A shares (A股) in China are renminbi-denominated common stock that are issued by domestic Chinese companies, and purchased and traded on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges.
A shares are characterised by the following key features:
i) They are common stock issued in China that can only be purchased by domestic investors or qualified foreign investors using the renminbi;
ii) They comprise the largest percentage of circulating stock issued by Chinese companies and are highly liquid. They are not necessarily, however, the largest volume of stock issued by a Chinese company, as in addition to A-shares corporations in China may also issue non-circulating state shares (国家股) and state-owned legal person shares (国有法人股).
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