1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1984 | 1986 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 |1998 | 1999
2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |

December 1978
Deng Xiaoping (邓小平) launches the "open door" policy (对外开放), the first cautious steps towards free-market reform.

October 1979
Liaoning Fushun No. 1 Brick Factory gets Party approval for a share issue.

January 1980
Liaoning Fushun No. 1 Brick Factory issues shares. This appears to be the first stock issue in the People's Republic of China.

November 1984
Feili, a collectively owned enterprise, issues the first standardized shares in Shanghai. Around the same time, a few other firms also issue shares to their employees and to the public.

August 1986
Formal trading of shares begins in a proto-stock market at a bank in Shenyang, Liaoning Province.

September 1986
An over-the-counter (OTC) market for share trading opens in Shanghai. The central government issues corporate responsibility regulations, pushing managers of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) (国有企业) to take responsibility for company results and initiating a gradual shift in SOEs toward a shareholding structure.

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April 1990
Shanghai receives central government approval for the development of the Pudong area of the city, which by the late 1990s becomes China's premier financial district.

October 1990
STAQS, a bond-trading platform run by the Stock Exchange Executive Council (SEEC) and the State Commission for Reconstructing the Economic System (SCORES), begins operation. In 1992, STAQS lists a number of legal person shares in SOEs, but in 1993 trading in the shares is banned by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).

December 1990
Stock exchanges are established in Shanghai (上海) and Shenzhen (深圳). Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) has central government approval, while Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) does not. SSE formally begins operations on December 19, 1990, while Shenzhen Stock Exchange is formally approved and opened on July 3, 1991, after seven months of  'trial operation'.

August 1991
China Securities Industry Association is established, but is later superseded by the establishment of the CSRC in October 1992.

December 1991
Shanghai Vacuum issues the first foreign-currency denominated B share.

May 1992
SCORES issues a document called 'The Standard Opinion', the first comprehensive regulations regarding share issuance and trading.

July 1992
The Finance and Economics Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) begins drafting the Securities Law. According to official media reports, over 10,000 SOEs apply to be listed.

Auguest 1992
The '8-10' Shenzhen stock riot breaks out in reaction to a badly managed IPO.

October 1992
China Brilliance Holdings becomes the first mainland China company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

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July 1993
Tsingtao Beer becomes the first mainland China company to be listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK), the first 'H share'.

July 1994
China's Company Law comes into effect, creating two kinds of limited companies: Comanies limited by shares, which have a high capital requirement, are permitted to trade their shares in public; and limited liability companies are permitted to have between three and 49 owners issued with 'capital contribution certificates' instead of shares.

November 1994
Official media reports claim that ten million share trading accounts have been opened.

February 1995
Wanguo Securities (万国证券) collapses after '327 T-bond futures' scandal. Guan Jinsheng, CEO of Wanguo Securities, is later sentenced to 17 years in prison.

July 1995
The NPC passes the Commercial Bank Law, which clarifies the division between commercial deposit  taking banks and securities firms. Under the new law, commercial banks are not permitted to invest in shares, trust and investment companies or in real estate. Furthermore, banks are obligated to disclose their holdings in securities firms.

August 1995
Morgan Stanley establishes China's first joint venture securities firm (JVSF): the China International Capital Corporation (CICC). China Construction Bank and Morgan Stanley become the dominant shareholders.

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February 1996
The CSRC is granted the right to levy fees on stock market participants, gaining a source of stable revenue.

June 1996
The CSRC establishes the first qualification system for underwriters.

October 1997
The central government announces that the CSRC will become China's sole securities regulator.

China Mobile (中国移动) lists on the NYSE.

May 1998
Regulatory powers in China's stock market formally pass from the People's Bank of China (PBOC) to the CSRC.

December 1998
The NPC passes the Securities Law.

June 1999
Twenty-eight securities companies issue a joint statement asserting that they are not engaged in illegal activities.

July 1999
China Dotcom becomes the first mainland company to be listed on the Nasdaq.

August 1999
The CSRC allows underwriters and their clients to set their own IPO prices, which were previously set at a P/E ratio of 14 - 18.

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January 2000
Yuxing, a Beijing - based software company, becomes the first mainland company listed on Hong Kong's new Growth Enterprise Market (GEM), a secondary board with less stringent listing requirements than Hong Kong's main board.

April 2000
The CSRC announces regulations requiring potential buyers of IPO A shares to purchase a minimum holding of RMB 10,000.

October 2000
Sinpec lists on the NYSE, the SEHK and the London Stock Exchange (LSE). In July 2001, the company issues A - shares on the SSE.

February 2001
The CSRC opens up the B share market to domestic Chinese investors with foreign currency bank accounts.

June 2001
China Unicom (中国联通) is included as a constituent stock of Hong Kong's Hang Send Index.

The SSE Composite Index reaches a record high of 2,245.43.

November 2001
The CSRC and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) reduce the stamp tax levied on share trading to 0.2%.

December 2001
The CSRC announces companies applying for a listing in 2002 must have their company accounts audited by both a domestic and an international accountancy firm.

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February 2002
New rules are issued permitting individuals to trade certificate treasury bonds.

March 2002
The CSRC allows IT and certain other companies to apply for brokerage licenses. Previously only securities firms were permitted to apply.

The CSRC and MOF cancel a plan to sell off state-owned shares after pressure from ordinary shareholders fearing such a move would cause a massive fall in share valuations.

October 2002
The CSRC issues the first set of comprehensive rules on the acquisition of listed companies, providing a framework for an already vibrant acquisitions market.

November 2002
The CSRC announces the pending introduction of the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) scheme, giving foreign investors access to A shares.

China Telecom (中国电信) lists on the NYSE and the SEHK.

December 2002
Normura Securities becomes the first overseas securities firm permitted to participate in B share trading at the SSE.

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January 2003
CITIC Securities becomes the first mainland securities firm to go public, raising RMB 1.8 billion (US$220 million).

May 2003
UBS becomes the first foreign financial institution to be granted QFII status.

December 2003
China Life (中国人寿) lists on the NYSE, in one of the largest IPOs of 2003 (over US$3 billion).

June 2004
Trading in the shares of 10 companies begins on the SME Board of  an estimated 1,000 companies that applies to list. The SME Board, based in Shenzhen, is a Nasdaq-like board for smaller, mostly private companies. It was to have been launched in 2000, but was delayed partly due to fears that such a board would suck liquidity away from the A share market.

July 2004
The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation becomes the first non-financial institution to gain QFII status.

August 2004
The CSRC suspends domestic IPOs to draft new listing rules. Under the previous system companies would set IPO prices artificailly low to ensure a big jump on the opening day of trading, making it common for prices to climb by 70% or more on the first day. Obviously, this did not encourage long term holding.

October 2004
Xinhua Finance lists on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Mother board. The company, headquartered in Hong Kong, is the first China company to list in Japan.

Barclays Global Investors launches iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index Fund, the first mainland China exchange-traded fund (ETF) available to American investors.

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January 2005
The CSRC announces they will resume approval of domestic IPOs after a four-month suspension and a revamp of the rules. Future share offerings will go through a new system promising a more market oriented IPO pricing mechanism.

March 2005
The SSE Composite Index hits a six year low. Analysts warn of more losses to come, noting the impact of imminent IPOs on an already declining market.

UBS urges the CSRC to boost the markets by raising the QFII quotas for foreign investors above the current cap of US$800 million.

May 2005
The CSRC announces a long awaited pilot scheme to phase in the sale of state shares in four companies. The proposed scheme enables existing shareholders to negotiate both the selling price and the method by which non-tradable shares are sold and requires that such arrangements are passed by two-thirds of all voting stakholders and voting tradable shareholders. Owners of non-tradable shares selected for the pilot will not be permitted to sell their holdings within a year of shares being floated.

June 2005
The Shanghai composite hits an 8 year low of 1,013.64.

In an effort to restore confidence in the stock market, the CSRC plans to let listed companies buy back their shares and announces that only 50% of the dividends received by retail investors would be taxable.

The CSRC continues to press ahead with the slae of state shares and designates a further 42 companies for a second round of flotation of non-tradable shares.
The composite indices of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges rise by more thant 8% in a single day on news that the PBOC has non plans to raise interest rates. It is the biggest jump since June 2001.

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July 2005
The CSRC issues a new moratorium on new share issues. Analysts predict the decision could further marginalize the poorly performing stock markets, as many Chinese companies will seek overseas listings to raise capital. Stock exchange officials in Shanghai and Shenzhen expect the freeze on new share issues to last until the end of 2005. In fact it will last until May 2006.

The CSRC raises the QFII quota from US$ 4 billion to US$ 10 billion.

China's brokerage firms post a record 45% drop in revenue in the first half of the year.

The PBOC un-pegs the RMB from the US dollar and ties it to a basket of currencies, allowing it to float within a narrow bandwidth. The RMB appreciates 2.1%.

August 2005
China Securities receives a RMB 4.6 billion bailout from the government.

Baosteel and Yangze Power shareholders approve plans to float blocs of non-tradable stateowned shares.

September 2005
The government sets up a US$ 779 million fund to protect investors with accounts in bankrupt brokerages.

Plans for a G share index, listing 'reformed' (gaige 改革) stocks, are announced.

UBS becomes the first foreign institution to buy into a mainland brokerage, paying US$ 210 million for a 20% stake in debt-ridden Beijing Securities.

November 2005
The CSRC allows foreign investors buy tradable A shares, subjecting them to specified 'lock-up' periods during which they must continue to hold the shares before being allowed to sell them.

December 2005
Foreign investment firms' applications to 'take stakes in or control' Chinese brokerages are suspended by the CSRC. At this point, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and UBS already have stakes in Chinese brokerages.

The power to vet listing applications and to suspend or delist companies is transferred from the CSRC to the nation's two stock exchanges.

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January 2006
The Bank of China secures State Council approval for a US$60 billion IPO on the SEHK.

The CSRC announces it will establish a futures exchange in Shanghai.

It is reported that securities companies lost more than US$ 120 million in 2005 thanks to poor stock market performances, falling turnover and the suspension of IPOs.

February 2006
On the first day of trading after the Lunar New Year holiday, the Shanghai composite rises 2.35% to close at 1,287.63 points, its highest level for 10 months, while the Shenzhen composite gains 2.86% to 315.9 points.

China agrees to adopt a form of the International Financial Reporting Standards used in almost 100 countries including those of the EU.

April 2006
UBS is granted regulatory approval for its 20% purchase of Beijing Securities, including the right to management control.

The CSRC announces that the ban on new listing will soon be lifted.

The CSRC awards US$ 350 million in QFII quotas to JP Morgan Chase Bank, DBS Bank and JF Asset Management.

May 2006
The Shanghai composite hits a 23 month high (1497.10) in response to the resumption of issues of secondary shares, convertible bonds and other securities and in anticipation of the first IPOs in over a year.

The CSRC lifts the ban on new listings and hundreds of companies line up to debut on the markets.

At the end of the month the Shanghai composite is up 37% on the year.

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