Purchase of bank shares helps market

Move seen as policy signal to stabilize prices, restore confidence

BEIJING - Central Huijin Investment Ltd, an arm of China's $300 billion sovereign wealth fund, said that it has started buying shares of the four major State-owned banks to stabilize prices after the A-share market fell to its lowest level in 30 months.

The move, announced on Monday by Central Huijin, the largest shareholder of China's big four banks - Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank of China - was seen by some analysts as a policy signal to prop up the domestic market and help restore investor confidence.