Stock market discrimination’s influence on market value of companies in China

Abstract

The article gives an overview of influence of stock market discrimination on market value of companies in China. There are two types of shares on Chinese stock market: class A shares, which are available for domestic investors, and class B shares, which are available for foreign investors. Such market structure is not a unique Chinese market’s feature. It is also used in such countries as Finland, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, etc. What differs Chinese market from markets with similar structure is the fact that class B shares are traded with substantial discount to class A shares. Such a situation is explained by such factors informational asymmetry between domestic and foreign investors; different liquidity of different classes of shares; diversification effect, connected with investment in Chinese stock market; size of companies; ratio of amounts of shares of different classes; stock exchange where company’s shares are traded. Key words: China, stock market, market discrimination, dual shares, restricted shares, liquidity, segmentation