"China says executives of state firms will be judged on stock performance"

Two from the South China Morning Post. First up, the headliner, December 18:

Guidelines affect 409 mainland-listed companies with a combined market value of US$3.8 trillion

China said top managers of central state-owned enterprises (SOEs) will be partly judged on their companies’ stock performances and must have plans to revive their shares in times of consecutive or significant declines.

According to a document published on Tuesday by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (Sasac), SOE managers should also promote share repurchases, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and higher dividends.

The guidelines come at a time when a rebound in Chinese stocks is fizzling out and authorities are eager to boost the values of yuan-denominated shares. Investors have lately been frustrated by a lack of clarity on what Beijing plans to do to support the stock and property markets – as well as the broader economy....

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And:

Hong Kong stocks rise as Beijing proposes steps to boost state-backed firms’ value

Hong Kong stocks rose as investors cheered the introduction of guidelines to help state-owned companies boost their values and the halving of service fees for dividend payouts.

The Hang Seng Index gained 0.9 per cent to 19,876.13 at 2.15pm local time on Wednesday, the first gain in two days. The Hang Seng Tech Index added 1.7 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index climbed 0.6 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index strengthened 0.7 per cent.

The gains were led by mainland Chinese carmakers. Li Auto jumped 5.3 per cent to HK$88.75 and Geely Auto added 3.7 per cent to HK$15.60. On-demand delivery giant Meituan advanced 0.8 per cent to HK$159.90 and smartphone maker Xiaomi added 2.3 per cent to HK$30.65....

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Both the Hang Seng and the mainland CSI 300 index are trading a half-percent+ higher.