China's bullish stock markets saw their market value exceed 6.5 trillion yuan (US$825.7 billion), more than doubling in the past 11 months and accounting for 46 percent of GDP.

 

The market value of all shares listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, one of China's two bourses, reached a record 5.09 trillion yuan (US$646.6 billion) yesterday, which is up 120 percent from the end of last year.

 

Experts predicted the market value would grow faster than anywhere else in the world this year.

 

The same day, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks both A and B shares, climbed to a five-year closing high for a second consecutive session led by interest in bank stocks while the yuan fell against the US dollar.

 

It ended up 1 percent at 1,941.55, its highest closing level since August 15, 2001 when it closed at 1,947.35. The index closed at 1,922.94 on Wednesday.

 

With the surging of stock market value, the role of China's stock market in the country's national economy has been greatly enhanced. The market, having experienced a four-year slump in contrast with China's heated economic growth, was once regarded marginal by the public.

 

Figures show at the end of last year the total market value of all shares listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges made up less than 18 percent of GDP. Despite the surprising growth, analysts believe there's still huge potential for the development of China's capital market.

 

In the US, the ratio of stock market value to GDP stands at 138 percent, in Britain at 166 and France at 113. Even the ratios in some newly industrialized countries are much higher than that of China -- 100.25 percent in South Korea, 99.23 in India and 81.19 in Brazil.

 

The increase in IPOs (initial public offerings) of blue chip stocks also contributed to the market value growth.

 

This year two of China's four largest state-owned commercial banks, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and the Bank of China (BOC), were listed on the mainland, becoming the two most heavily weighted shares on the stock market.

  

The share price of ICBC yesterday rose 4.1 percent to 3.80 yuan (US$0.48) and the BOC jumped 6.7 percent to 3.66 yuan (US$0.46) after hitting a record 3.76 yuan (US$0.47). Their rises contributed to a 30-point-rise in Shanghai Composite Index yesterday, dealers said.

 

(Xinhua News Agency November 17, 2006)