BIZCHINA / Center
Investors open 4.7m new accounts
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-03-28 09:51
Investors opened 4.69 million new accounts with China's stock exchanges
in the first two months of this year, in a dash to cash in on the bull
equity markets.
Related readings:
Domestic stocks rise for 7th day
More fund products on the way Stocks are set for record close
According to the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), 3.42
million new accounts were opened in January and 1.27 million in February.
The number of stock investors in China totaled almost 82 million at the
end of February.
Analysts said the excessive liquidity had provided strong growth momentum
for China's equity markets, which surged 130 percent in 2006.
China's share prices extended record gains on Tuesday as the key Shanghai
Composite Index climbed 16.02 points, or 0.51 percent, to finish at
3,138.83 points.
The benchmark index has reported gains for seven days in a row despite
concerns about overheating equity markets and expectations of more market
fluctuations, like that of February 27, when the Shanghai Composite Index
plunged 8.84 percent, the biggest single-day drop in a decade.
The CSRC said the price/earnings (P/E) ratio of companies listed on the
Shanghai A-share market had multiplied by 39.6 times from the level at
the end of February, compared with 18 times in the same period last year.
U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs warned earlier that if the P/E ratio
exceeded 25 times, share prices would be over-valued.
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
Learn Chinese online
