With the recent release of the 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-05), standardization and development of the stock market have been written into the country's medium- and long-term development plans for the first time ever.

Chinese authorities have decided to further open the bourses to foreign investors and build the markets according to international standards, said experts attending a seminar on China's macro economy and development of the stock market held over the weekend in Beijing.

The major factor guiding this decision, according to analysts, is China's expected entry into the World Trade Organization.

Over the next few years, the country's stock markets will become increasingly deregulated, according to Xu Hongyuan, director of the economic monitoring department of the State Information Center.

Xu claimed the market would become more mature and efficient with the introduction of delisting channels and upgrades of the issuing system.

There are also likely to be increasing numbers of institutional investors over the next few years, private funds as well as Sino-foreign open-ended funds, he said.

Other thresholds for foreign entry into the stock market will also be gradually removed.

For example, foreign investors might be allowed to purchase stakes held by the State and other stock owners in the next few years.

Xu predicted foreign companies would be formally allowed to participate in the merger and takeover of domestic listed firms, which is likely to promote large scale restructuring in some of China's more traditional sectors.

Moreover, some foreign firms will also get the go-ahead for domestic listing in the next few years, a move that will help upgrade the quality of listed firms and activate market sentiment in China.

Experts attending the meeting predicted China's macro economic status will remain robust throughout the next few years, with an average GDP growth rate of 7 percent .

(China Daily 03/19/2001)