Targets of buyouts see shares dive

Regulator suspends several insurers' sales to rein in risks of leveraged acquisitions

Shares of Chinese companies involved in leveraged acquisitions plunged on Monday, after the country's top securities regulator condemned the "barbaric" buyouts of listed companies by speculative capital.

Gree Electric Appliances, the country's biggest air conditioner producer, tumbled by the 10 percent daily trading limit, while China State Construction Engineering Corp, the country's biggest construction company, suffered a 9.15 percent loss. Both companies have been among the targets of the latest stake-buying spree by aggressive and cash-rich insurance funds in the equity market.