MNI China Press Digest, Oct 17: SOEs & Local Govts Buy Shares

     BEIJING (MNI) - The following lists highlights from the Chinese press for

Wednesday:

     Chinese state-owned companies (SOEs) bought shares of private companies

amid stock market turbulence this month in order to help them ease liquidity

pressure and survive the crisis, rather than bottom fishing and opportunistic

takeover, the Securities Daily said in a front-page opinion piece on Wednesday.

SOEs in more than 10 provinces have bought A-shares amid the sell-off, according

to the Daily. Most problematic companies bailed out by SOEs pledged equities for

financing made challenging by the deleveraging campaign and stock market crash,

the newspaper said. (Link to story: https://tinyurl.com/ybeqf62h)

     More local governments are planning to inject capitals into the tumbling

stock market, following Shenzhen municipal government's purchases of tens of

billions of A shares, Caixin reported. The government of Shunde city in

Guangdong province is planning to ease the risk of equity pledge of its own

listed companies. Shunde plans to arrange special funds to improve the liquidity

of listed firms, mainly by providing financing support and acquisition of shares

or debt, Caixin said.(Link to story: https://tinyurl.com/ycsaaow7)

Boosting investors' confidence in the A-share stock market comes from

recognizing how reform and opening up of the Chinese economy helps the capital

markets' healthy development, Economic Daily said in a commentary on Tuesday,

calling for the reform of the Initial Public Offering (IPO) process, the release

of financial licenses, and the improvement of the infrastructure. The current

overall valuation of A shares is reasonable, and some industries and companies

have good development prospects, the daily said. Investors should not see fear

within the P/E ratio and turnover numbers, but trust the resilience and

investment opportunities of the stock market, the daily said. (Link to story:

https://tinyurl.com/ydcqab5e)

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: wanxia.lin@marketnews.com

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 10 8532 5998; email: william.bi@mni-news.com

[TOPICS: M$A$$$,M$Q$$$,MBQ$$$]