BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Lock-up shares worth about 39 billion yuan (about 6.2 billion U.S. dollars) will become eligible for trading on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges next week.
A total of 4.79 billion shares from 38 listed firms will become tradable, much higher than 3.24 billion during the previous week.
Twelve companies will have more than 100 million shares unlocked. Power Construction Corporation of China, a leading hydropower project contractor, will see 1.54 billion shares become tradable, the largest to hit the market.
Under China's market rules, major shareholders must wait one to two years before they are permitted to sell their shares.
Chinese stocks closed slightly lower Friday. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index went down 0.66 percent at 3,159.05 points, and the Shenzhen Component Index slipped 0.37 percent to 10,687.02 points.
