China United Telecom (China Unicom), a blue chip firm with a market value of 57.2 billion yuan (US$7.15 billion), has joined China's split share structure reform, the Shanghai Securities News reported on Monday.

 

The news signified a new milestone in China's stock reform, as listed firms with a total market value exceeding 65 percent of the shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange have participated in the reform, it said.

 

Only when super blue chips such as China Unicom and China Petro-Chemical Corporation with market values of tens of billions of yuan join the reform, could its success be confirmed, the newspaper quoted market insiders as saying.

 

China Unicom, a major communications operator, said in its annual report that net profits last year stood at 2.842 billion yuan (US$355 million), up 15 percent from the previous year.

 

This is the 27th round of split share reform since the country kicked off the controversial pilot reform in April last year.

 

The split share structure, referring to the existence of both publicly-owned tradable shares and a large volume of state-owned non-tradable shares, was regarded as a major factor leading to the last four years of bearish activity on the market.

 

To make all their shares tradable, listed companies participating in the reform have to offer additional shares or funds to public investors as compensation for potential losses in their stock folios when the non-tradable shares hit the market.

 

Together with China Unicom, blue chips Gezhouba, China Satellite and Changfeng Automobile each with a market value of around 2 billion yuan joined the 27th round, accounting for 65.09 percent of the total market share value on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

 

Sinopec Corporation, another super blue chip whose market value accounts for 17 percent of the total on the Shanghai bourse, has not joined the reform.

 

Its just published annual report said the oil company still had no detailed reform plan, but it was preparing for reform.

 

The Shanghai Stock Exchange would strive to push the reform process of Sinopec, an official with the bourse told the newspaper.

 

Sinopec's planned reform would be another key indicator for the success of the next stage of split share reform, the newspaper said.

 

Meanwhile, the market value of listed companies starting reform on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, China's second bourse, accounts for 72.9 percent of the total market share value after the 27th round of reform.

 

Compared with the Shanghai Stock Exchange, whose listed firms are mostly state-controlled giants with huge market values, Shenzhen's companies are relatively small.

 

(Xinhua News Agency April 4, 2006)