June 08, 2007	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 22, 1428

SHANGHAI, June 7: China’s securities regulator has drawn up rules on how Chinese firms registered and listed in Hong Kong can sell shares on the nation’s booming domestic stock markets, official media reported on Thursday.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission has circulated a document soliciting opinions from brokerages over its criteria for sales on the mainland of Hong Kong registered firms, better-known as red chips, the Caijing magazine reported on its website.The qualified applicants should have a market value no less than HK$20 billion and total net profit of at least HK$2 billion over past three years, the report said, citing the document.

“The time was now ripe for red chips to be able to directly sell shares on the domestic market. There are no significant barriers and it is feasible,” the cited document said.

China currently does not allow any overseas-registered firms to list domestically. Analysts have long argued that ramping up the supply of companies’ shares on China’s domestic bourses could help curb overheated stock markets.—AFP