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Official: Transfer of state-owned shares may begin in August

By Hou Lei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-07-06 17:52

Official: Transfer of state-owned shares may begin in August

The transfer of state-owned shares from listed companies to the National Social Security Fund is expected to begin in next month, media reported Monday.

Jia Chen, head of the Enterprise Department from the Ministry of Finance said details of the transfer are being finalized and the process will last about a month.

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On June 19, the government ordered listed companies to transfer part of their state-owned shares to the National Social Security Fund in a bid to help the country's aging society.

The new rules apply to all companies listed on domestic the stock exchange. Shares transferred to the national pension fund will amount to 10 percent of total shares offered in Initial Public Offerings(IPO), according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

"It is estimated that about 80 billion yuan ($11.7 billion) will be transferred to the National Social Security Fund," professor Yang Jian from Renmin University told China Economic Weekly.

"More importantly, the move turns 'state assets' to 'public assets' and is a breakthrough in dealing with the issue of property rights," Yang added.