Fewer lock-up shares eligible for trade

BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Lock-up shares worth about 41.19 billion yuan (about 6.5 billion U.S. dollars) will become eligible for trading on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges this week.

The value was substantially down from nearly 75 billion yuan of shares unlocked last week.

A total of 5.21 billion shares from 35 listed firms will become tradable. Jiangsu Broadcasting Cable Information Network Corporation will see 16.72 billion yuan of shares become tradable, the largest to hit the market.

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, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.23 percent to close at 3,082.23 points. The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.31 percent higher at 10,324.47 points. Enditem