Last year, 402 companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen
bourses recovered 33.57 billion yuan (US$4.2 billion) of debt owed
by their controlling shareholders, according to announcements by
the two exchanges on Thursday.
The announcements said 36 listed companies are yet to recoup
14.6 billion yuan from their controlling shareholders, including 22
companies that had partially retrieved misappropriated funds.
The two bourses urged the 36 companies to explain why they
failed to recover all the misappropriated funds and report measures
they had taken to hold those responsible to account.
More work should be done to improve the quality of listed
companies and secure the sound development of the capital markets,
sources with the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges said.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission issued an ultimatum
to listed companies, requiring them to recover misappropriated
funds from controlling shareholders by the end of 2006 and warning
those who failed to meet the deadline would be banned from
re-financing.
The campaign, which was started in November 2005 by the State
Council aimed to improve the quality of the country's 1,400 listed
companies and safeguard the interests of shareholders.
The misappropriation of large sums by controlling shareholders
has been a major problem afflicting China's burgeoning stock
markets.
(Xinhua News Agency January 4, 2007)