Jiangxi Copper, China's largest copper producer by production, and Huaneng Power International, the country's biggest generator, have improved compensation packages for their respective A-share holders affected by the two companies' share reform plan.
Under the revised plan, Jiangxi Copper's A-share holders will receive 2.2 free shares for every 10 tradable shares, Jiangxi Copper said in a statement published in the China Securities Journal.
Jiangxi Copper Group, which holds a 44 percent stake in the listed company in the form of nontradable shares, will use up to 150 million yuan (HK$144.78 million) to buy back Jiangxi Copper's A shares if its price falls below 5.80 yuan within two months of the completion of the share reform, it said.
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This is more favorable than the original plan announced March 6, under which Jiangxi Copper's A-share holders would have received 1.8 free shares for every 10 tradable shares.
Under the original plan, Jiangxi Copper Group would have used a maximum of only 100 million yuan to buy back Jiangxi Copper's A shares in the event the price dropped below five yuan within two months of the end of the reform. Jiangxi Copper's A shares closed at 6.92 yuan on February 24 and have since been suspended. The company will hold a meeting April 3 where shareholders can vote on the plan, and investors can also vote online from March 30 to April 3, it said.
Huaneng's improved plan calls for controlling shareholders to be given three shares for every 10 held, up from 2.8 shares in an earlier proposal.
The controlling shareholders are compensating minority shareholders for any losses incurred as they seek to make tradable 15 million shares.
Huaneng Power's domestic shares totaled nine billion, of which 500 million are publicly traded, according to the company's 2004 financial statement. Of the total domestic shares, Huaneng International owns 43.12 percent, and China Huaneng owns 51.98 percent of Huaneng International, it said.
The power firm's Shanghai listed A shares last traded at 6.30 yuan on March 3 from which day it has been suspended.
Jiangxi Copper and Huaneng Power have joined a nationwide program to convert its nontradable stockholdings. The two companies' plans are part of a government program aimed at trading over US$200 billion (HK$1.5 trillion) of mostly state-held stock in China's 1,300 listed companies. DOW JONES NEWSWIRES, BLOOMBERG
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