Share
prices drop in market meltdown that has seen a $3.2 trillion sell-off in just
weeks. The Chinese government is scrambling to stop its main stock market
from plunging, with the securities regulator warning the market is in the grip
of "panic".
The Shanghai Composite closed down 5.9 percent on
Wednesday, while Hong Kong's main stock index plunged 8 percent amid an
accelerating sell-off in mainland China.
China's two oil giants were among the biggest losers
in Shanghai. PetroChina slumped 9.07 percent to 12.33 yuan while Sinopec fell
by its 10 percent daily limit to 6.72 yuan.
Since mid-June, the Chinese stock market has lost
almost a third of its value - a loss of $3.2 trillion
Other markets in Asia were also sharply down on
Wednesday, including Japan's Nikkei, which lost more than 3 percent.
Al Jazeera's Scott Heidler, reporting from Beijing,
said that responding to the sell-off, more companies were taking their stocks
off the market, not allowing them to be traded.
By Wednesday, about 1,400, or about half of the
companies listed in China, had been suspended.
"The central government calls what has been
happening 'a panic and irrational sell off'," our correspondent said.
Central government's measures
Among the latest interventions by Beijing, the
country's 111 major state-owned enterprises were barred from selling shares in
their listed subsidiaries by the State-owned Assets Supervision and
Administration Commission, which oversees them.
China's government told state companies and corporate
executives to buy shares, raised the amount of equities insurance companies can
hold and promised more credit to finance trading.
The People's Bank of China, the central bank, also
pledged to support the "stable development" of the stock market by
helping the China Securities Finance Co. raise funds, according to a statement
on the bank's website.
On Sunday, the government said the central bank would
provide funds to the China Securities Finance Co. to help "protect the
stability of the securities market".
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
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