SHANGHAI stocks edged down after rallying on speculation that foreign investors will buy more equities as the securities regulator seeks to attract overseas investment.

The Shanghai Composite Index remained largely unchanged and closed at 2,302.18 points by the noon break with a turnover of 40.7 billion yuan (US$6.44 billion).

Shares of the energy saving and environmental protection industry rallied ahead of the release of the Twelfth Five- Year Plan for the sector. According to an official of the National Development and Reform Commission, the government spent more on environmental protection as the issues deepened in the country. Last year 3.4 trillion yuan was plunged into the industry. And it is expected that the sector will account for about 7 percent of the national GDP output by 2015. There's huge market potential for control of environmental pollution in China, compared to other developed countries.

The sector was the second top performer in the morning trade, with an average jump of 2.3 percent. Tianjin Capital Environmental Protection Group Co, gained 0.4 percent to 5.45 yuan. Shanghai Safbon Water Service Co, soared 6.2 percent to 18.99 yuan.

Yuan-denominated foreign investment has been granted an extra quota earlier this week, with a total amount of 50 billion yuan. Qualified institutions are allowed to buy exchange-traded fund products in the A-share market, said an official of the securities watchdog. And the portfolio is not subject to the former rule, which stated the proportion of investment in the stock markets is limited to 20 percent of the total funds. The watchdog is currently reviewing the operation of foreign investment programs to attract more overseas long-term funds to China's capital market.

Brokerages were mixed. China Merchants Securities shed 0.5 percent to 11.81 yuan. Citic Securities gained 0.7 percent to 12.35 yuan.

Source:shanghaidaily