In the latest move to bolster the markets, lock-up periods for equities have been shortened on both the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges.

The lock-up period has been brought down, from 30 days, to just 10 days ahead of the release of corporate results. The announcement came late on Wednesday, in response to sharp rises in the number of major shareholders who are now buying back shares.

Major shareholders of more than 20 listed firms, including the parent of top Asian Oil producer PetroChina, have purchased or say they intend to purchase shares over the last few weeks.

This latest official move comes just a week after the launch of an unprecedented booster package for ailing stock markets, including scrapping stamp duties and encouraging state-owned enterprises to buy back shares of their listed units.

(CCTV September 27, 2008)