Lock-up shares worth 55b yuan to become tradable

BEIJING - Lock-up shares worth nearly 55 billion yuan ($9 billion) will become eligible for trade on China's stock market?this week.

About 2.9 billion shares from 27 companies will become tradable on the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses. The amount, up from the 43.7 billion yuan in shares unlocked this week, will add pressure on China's struggling stock market.

Hebang Co Ltd, a Sichuan province-based mining company, will see non-tradable shares worth around 12.9 billion yuan become tradable on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Aug 13, the largest amount to hit the market.

Under China's market rules, major shareholders of non-tradable stocks are subject to one or two years of lock-up before they are permitted to trade.

China's battered stock market rebounded on Friday, with the three major indices rising substantially. But analysts warned that the market will continue to fluctuate in coming months as confidence requires time to recover.