Updated: 2007-08-06 15:49

Companies listed on the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange can release their corporate information at noon, according to a regulation of the bourse effective today.

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Previously, SME board companies were only allowed to disclose corporate information after the close of a day's trading.

The new regulation, released by the exchange last month, permits SME board members to release temporary announcements on authorized websites from 11:30 to 13:00 or after 15:30.

If an SME company makes temporary announcement at the noon, the Shenzhen bourse will add a letter "A" to the initials of the corporate name, which investors see using their trading software. In the initial stage, the exchange will also post the list of companies that have released temporary announcements at noon on particular websites.

"The new information disclosure system will greatly save time in publicizing important issues, which may help reduce insider trading and increase market transparency," the Beijing News quoted Zhang Hui, an analyst with Xinye Securities, as saying.