Locked shares worth nearly $3b to become tradable

BEIJING - Locked shares from 25 listed companies will become eligible for trade on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges in the coming week.

Calculated with Friday closing prices, the shares are worth 19.85 billion yuan ($2.95 billion), down about 43 percent from the past week, according to financial information provider Wind Info.

The largest amount of unlocked shares this week will come on Monday, when shares from 16 firms worth more than 18 billion yuan will become tradable, accounting for 91.43 percent of the total.

Natural gas provider Bestsun Energy Co will see the greatest value in unlocked shares at 8.35 billion yuan, data showed.

Under China's market rules, major shareholders must wait for one to two years before they are permitted to sell shares.