Fewer lock-up shares eligible for trade

BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Lock-up shares worth about 38.7 billion yuan (about 6.1 billion U.S. dollars) will become eligible for trading on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges this week.

This is down from the nearly 43.8 billion yuan of shares unlocked last week, according to information service provider Wind Info.

A total of 2.85 billion shares from 36 listed firms will become tradable.

Under China's market rules, major shareholders must wait one to two years before they are permitted to sell their shares.

Chinese stocks closed higher on Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 1.24 percent to end at 3,193.3 points. The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.35 percent higher at 10,672.52 points.