Fewer lock-up shares eligible for trade

BEIJING — Lock-up shares worth about 44 billion yuan ($6.6 billion) will become eligible for trading on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges?this week.

The amount is more than 30 percent down from the previous week, according to information service provider Wind.

Some 3 billion lock-up shares of listed companies will become tradable from Oct 23 to 27. Hainan HNA Infrastructure Investment Group Co Ltd is set to unlock 1.24 billion shares worth nearly 17 billion yuan on Wednesday, the largest from a single company next week.

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. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index went up 0.25 percent at 3,378.65 points, while the Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.44 percent higher at 11,238.88 points.