Stocks edge up amid price corrections, 06/06

By Li Zengxin (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-06-06 15:52

The stock exchanges are stepping up efforts to combat misconducts in trading and information disclosure. As the latest move, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange has asked firms with improper information disclosures to communicate with investors directly and make apologies and unveil plans to rectify the irregularities.

Firms listed on Shenzhen's second board must hold meetings or online briefings with minority investors to clarify problems if their disclosures failed to meet requirements, the Shenzhen bourse said in a statement.

The meetings should last for at least two hours and investors must have at least one hour to raise questions with the company. The firms' chairmen and executives responsible for improper disclosures must attend the meetings and clarify measures to deal with the problems, the statement said.

The continuous price increase on pork has raised fear for the central bank to hike the interest rates again. In May, prices of meat in 36 largest cities in China were up 10.5 percent. And some regional economies showed signs of overheating.

The central bank is closely monitoring the issue, said Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China. "We will keep an eye on it. But we focus more on the consumer price index (CPI). Although food takes up the largest weight in the CPI, we still need to know if and how exactly the pork price increase affects the CPI," Zhou said.

The results for May will be available around June 10. Then the central bank will make its move depending on the data. And it may apply any appropriate monetary instrument, including but not restraint to the interest rate adjustment, added Zhou.


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