Stock market break arrangements in 2008

In accordance with the circular of the country's top stock watchdog, Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges yesterday disclosed the market breaks on the statutory holidays as arranged below:

New Year: The stock markets will close from Dec. 29, 2007 (which falls on Saturday, a regular weekend close) to Jan. 1 (Tuesday), 2008, and open again on Jan. 2 (Wednesday), 2008.

Spring Festival: The stock markets will close from Feb. 6 (Wednesday) to Feb. 12 (Tuesday), 2008, and open again on Feb. 13 (Wednesday), 2008. Before the break, the markets will also close on Feb. 2 (Saturday) and Feb. 3 (Sunday), which are regular weekend closes.

Tomb-Sweeping Festival: The stock markets will close from Apr. 4 (Friday) to Apr. 6 (Sunday), 2008, and open again on Apr. 7 (Monday), 2008.

International Labor Day: The stock markets will close from May 1 (Thursday) to May 4 (Sunday, regular weekend close), 2008, and open again on May 5 (Monday), 2008.

Dragon Boat Festival: The stock markets will close from Jun. 7 (Saturday) to Jun. 9 (Monday), 2008, and open again on Jun. 10 (Tuesday), 2008.

Mid-Autumn Festival: The stock markets will close from Sept. 13 (Saturday) to Sept. 15 (Monday), 2008, and open again on Sept. 16 (Tuesday), 2008.

National Day: The stock markets will close from Sept. 27 (Saturday) to Oct. 5 (Sunday), 2008, and open again on Oct. 6 (Monday), 2008, including the two-day regular weekend close on Sept. 27 and Sept. 28.

All the clearing and settlement issues shall be conducted as arranged by China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation.

To ensure normal trading after holiday breaks, the Shanghai bourse will provide the united debugging and test environment for the trade system between 9:30 and 12:00 on Feb. 12 (Tuesday) and Oct. 5 (Sunday), 2008.