Hong Kong Stock Exchange allows short selling of Chinese retail giant Wumart Stores

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange has added Wumart Stores stock to its list of securities eligible for short selling, potentially opening up borrower interest in the Chinese retail giant’s shares.

Wumart is a non-state-owned enterprise with most of its premises operating in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and the north-west of China. Short selling of Wumart stock will be permitted from 1^st March 2010, adding to the 512 listed securities which are eligible for short selling on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The announcement comes in a time of increased interest in China for the securities lending industry, with the country’s government and regulators recently making moves to allowing securities lending within the Chinese markets.