Layn scrip sizzles hot on bourses

SHANGHAI: The outbreak of Influenza A (H1N1) flu epidemic has cast the spotlight on the pharmaceutical, mainly herbal remedies, sector of the Chinese stock market.

Star chasers among the hoard of investors around the nation have been pushing up prices of shares of herbal drug makers whose ancient formula were said to contain ingredients that could cure the disease. Although the popularity of many of these hot favorites was short-lived, the furor has refused to dissipate.

Even at the height of the craze, few so-called "concept stocks" have rocketed the popularity charts as spectacularly as a little known herbal drug producer from a remote province tucked in the southwest.