New rules herald the end of unlisted foreign-investment shares

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A new Circular makes it easier for foreign investors to get approval for the conversion of their unlisted shares into B-shares. This may finally render non-listed foreign-investment shares in these issuers obsolete. By Heiner Braun and Miles Ma, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Shanghai.

The Ministry of Commerce (Mofcom) recently issued revised rules on the conversion of non-listed shares held by foreign investors in B-share companies into B-shares: shares trading in foreign currency on the Shanghai or Shenzhen stock exchanges.

    The Circular on Issues Relevant to the Conversion of Unlisted Foreign Investment Shares of Foreign-invested Companies Limited by Shares into Tradable B-shares (关于外商投资股份有限公司非上市外资股转B股流通有关问题的通知) (New Rules) provide a liquid market exit for foreign investors in B-share companies. The New Rules supersede the Supplementary Circular on Issues Concerning the Conversion of Unlisted Foreign Investment Shares of Foreign-invested Companies Limited by Shares into Tradable B-shares (关于外商投资股份有限公司非上市外资股转B股流通有关问题的补充通知) issued by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (the predecessor of Mofcom) on August 16 2002 (Old Rules).

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