Anyone who has played whack-a-mole might have sympathy with China’s market regulators. No sooner do they appear to have wrestled some ballooning form of funding back to its proper size than another pops up.
The latest funding avenue to fall victim is private placements, where companies sell new shares in secondary offerings to a small group of investors without existing shareholders having the right to buy first. Rules introduced last Friday curb the size of the offerings, their frequency and the discount they can be offered at.
Investors applauded, with blue-chips in Shanghai and Shenzhen having their best day in six months on Monday.