Chinese regulators are about to approve four additional equity funds, in an attempt to boost institutional holdings, Reuters reports.
Three of the funds are offered through two joint ventures in China, with
All three of the fund houses originally applied to offer the funds more than a year and a half ago.
China is approving the funds ahead of a rash of new security offerings scheduled for later in the year that has some investors believing an overcrowded market will fall in value. The hope is that the mutual funds will buy up the new stocks, thereby giving stability to the market.
“The government doesn’t want to see the [Shanghai] index rise too fast,” said an executive at one of the fund companies. “It doesn’t want to see the market turn bearish, either. What the government wants is a stable and less speculative stock market.”
