Fu Chenghao/Shanghai Daily news

A report that the occupational pension fund will begin to invest in domestic stock markets starting next month helped Shanghai shares close higher yesterday.
The Shanghai Composite Index, which groups yuan-denominated A shares and foreign-currency B shares, climbed 0.66 percent to 1,021.05. The A-share Index gained 0.66 percent to 1,073.97 while the B-share Index added 0.60 percent to 53.02.
Hu Xiaoyi, Ministry of Labor and Social Security spokesman, announced that 40 qualified companies are now awaiting final confirmations from the ministry and the country's banking, securities and insurance regulators.
Their names will be unveiled as early as month end, the China Securities Journal reported yesterday.
"It's something that stimulates the domestic market," said Wang Xiaomin, a Xiangcai Securities Co strategist. "The upcoming capital inflow could be a long-term incentive."
The corporate pension fund going into the stock market this year is around 20 billion yuan (US$2.4 billion), 20 percent of the nation's total.
The functions of the 40 brokerages, selected from 99 applicants, vary according to their respective qualification, the newspaper said.
The 40 institutions include fund management companies and trust and investment companies.