China may let listed firms pay staff partly with stocks
A security guard sleeps next to stock trading machines at a brokerage house in Taiyuan, Shanxi province in this May 15, 2012 file photograph. — Reuters picSHANGHAI, Aug 6 — China's stock regulator is considering a scheme under which listed companies can buy back shares and use them pay up to 30 per cent of wages and bonuses for staff, its latest move to help boost the country's sagging stock market.
In draft rules published over the weekend, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said the shares issued to staff would have to be bought on the secondary market, which would support stock prices, and staff must hold the shares for at least 36 months.
Shares held by staff members must not exceed 10 per cent of a listed company's outstanding shares in total, and a single employee could hold no more than 1 per cent, according to draft rules published on the regulator's website, www.csrc.gov.cn.
The regulator is seeking public comment on the proposed changes by Aug. 17. Draft rules are typically brought into effect with only minor changes two weeks to a month after the deadline for comment.
The CSRC has recently taken a slew of steps to boost China's stock market, including cuts to transaction fees and encouraging China's 2,000-plus listed companies to buy back their own stock.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index hit a 3-1/2 year low last week amied worries over a slowdown in the pace of growth in the world's second-largest economy and a stuttering recovery elsewhere. — Reuters
