SOEs lead fall in stock market

Investors track stock prices at a brokerage in Huaibei, Anhui province. State-owned enterprises took up 80 percent of the positions in the top 100 companies that suffered the most severely from falling share prices this year. [Photo / China Daily]

State-owned enterprises led the fall in market value in China's A-share market in 2013, as equities went through another tough year.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped by 0.18 percent, ending at 2,097 on Monday, marking a 7.9 percent drop year-to-date.

By last Monday, a total of 811 listed companies had seen their market value decrease from the start of the year, according to Wind Information, a financial data provider.

SOEs took up 80 percent of the positions in the top 100 companies that suffered the most severely from falling share prices.

Among the top 10 companies hit by the biggest market loss of value, six were SOEs, including three State-owned energy giants, PetroChina Co Ltd, Shenhua Group Corp Ltd and China Petrochemical Corp (also known as Sinopec), two national lenders - Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Bank of China - and China Life, the nation's biggest insurer in terms of assets.

Market value had shrunk by 820.2 billion yuan ($134 billion) for the above six companies by last Monday, according to Wind.

On the other hand, thanks to the solid performance of the Growth Enterprise Board, China's Nasdaq-style market, total market capitalization of the A-share market grew by more than 400 billion yuan.

The misallocation of capital in China's economy has lasted for more than 10 years, partly because of the inefficient operation of some large SOEs, while small companies with innovation ability and growth potential are thirsty for funds, said Xin Yu, president of Zequan Investment based in Guangzhou.