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Fewer stock accounts opened in first half

By Ding Qi (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-07-25 17:02

The increase of new securities trading accounts in China dropped along with the diving index in the first half of the year as official figures show those who rushed to try their luck in bourses halved compared with the same period of last year.

According to statistics from the China Securities Depository and Clearing Corp, by the end of June, there were 118.79 million stock accounts as well as 27.77 million mutual fund accounts in Chinese mainland markets. Among these, 9.26 million stock accounts were opened in the first half of this year. However, during the same period of last year, the figure was 19.38 million.

Viewed month by month, only January saw more than 2 million of new accounts, while last year, the monthly increase could easily top 4 million.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index settled at 2,736.10 on June 30, 2008, almost 50 percent lower than last year-end's close. Combined turnover of both the Shanghai and the Shenzhen stock exchange shrank nearly 30 percent year-on-year, suggesting investors' reluctance in stock trading. More potential buyers held a wait-and-see attitude instead of joining into the weakening markets immediately.

During June when the index dropped to the lowest level so far this year, only about 969,600 stock accounts were created, the lowest in the past 16 months.

Even poorer was the number of new mutual fund accounts, which were only 1.8 million in the first six months. That could be about a month's figure last year when many people with little stock knowledge turned to mutual funds for their fortune dreams.