Locked-up shares worth 171b yuan eligible for trade

BEIJING - Locked-up shares worth about 171 billion yuan ($24.7 billion) will become eligible for trade on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges next week, up 73.7 percent on last week.

About 11 billion shares from 69 companies will become tradable on the exchanges from December 26 to 30, according to RoyalFlush Information, a financial information service provider.

Focus Media Information Technology, will unlock 5.6 billion shares, the largest batch to hit the market next week.

Under China's market rules, major shareholders of locked-up stocks have to wait one to two years before they can sell.