More lock-up shares eligible for trade

BEIJING, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- Lock-up shares worth about 58 billion yuan (8.8 billion U.S. dollars) will become eligible for trading on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges this week.

The amount is around 98 percent up from the previous week, according to information service provider Wind.

Some 5.7 billion lock-up shares of 49 listed companies will become tradable from Dec. 18 to 22. Hangzhou Lianluo Interactive Information Technology Co., a mobile Internet products and service provider, is set to unlock shares worth around 5.4 billion yuan, 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 shares closed lower Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.8 percent, at 3,266.14 points. The Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.01 percent lower at 10,998.12 points. Enditem