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China opens most stock trade accounts in 3 months

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-03-17 13:02

Investors opened the most accounts to trade Chinese stocks last week in three months as households shifted funds into equities to protect against faster inflation.

Individual investors opened 352,203 accounts, data from the nation's clearing house showed Wednesday, the most since the week ended Dec 11 and a third straight gain. China's markets were shut for the five days to Feb 19 for Lunar New Year holidays.

Consumer prices jumped 2.7 percent last month, government data showed last week, exceeding the 12-month household savings deposit rate of 2.25 percent. The number of households expecting inflation to accelerate in the next three months increased, the central bank said yesterday, citing a quarterly survey conducted in February.

"Real deposit rates have now fallen into negative territory, so it would not be surprising if Chinese savers decide to chase better returns elsewhere," said Brian Jackson, an emerging-market strategist at Royal Bank of Canada in Hong Kong.

The introduction of stock-futures trading from as early as next month may also be attracting investors. The first stock- index contracts, based on China's CSI 300 Index, may begin trading in mid or late April, Shang Fulin, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, has said. The regulator said index traders will have to keep at least 500,000 yuan ($73,239) in their brokerage accounts.

New accounts have yet to rise to last year's peak of 700,617 accounts opened in the last week of July. The Shanghai Composite Index jumped 91 percent from last year to a high on Aug. 4 as the government implemented spending programs and encouraged bank lending to drive economic growth. The gauge has since slumped 14 percent as the government withdraws stimulus measures to contain inflation.