Leo zhang/Shanghai Daily news

Shanghai stocks edged lower yesterday, led by companies whose business may be ruffled by the spread of bird flu after the country confirmed its first human death from the virus.
But the downside was partly offset by a news report that China plans to pace up efforts to boost stock prices after listed companies finish revamping their state shareholding structures.
The shanghai Composite Index, which groups both yuan-denominated A shares and hard-currency B shares, slipped 0.05 percent to 1,095.31. The A share index inched 0.06 percent lower to 1,151.31 while the B share index grew 0.28 percent to 60.83.
"Investors were shunning bird flu-related stocks on worries of their earnings prospects," said Liu Yu, an Orient Securities Co trader. "Poultry makers will certainly be hit hard while airlines may suffer on their international routes if the flu continues to spread."
China's ministry of Health said on Wednesday a female farmer in Anhui Province died from breathing problems as a result of contacting the H5N1 bird flu virus.
Shanghai dajiang (Group) Stock Co, China's largest publicly traded poultry breeder, lost 0.37 percent to 2.30 yuan (28 US cents). China Southern Airlines Co, the country's biggest carrier by fleet, lost 1.50 percent to 2.63 yuan.
Elsewhere, China's top securities regulator Shang Fulin said that "preferential policies" may be drafted for companies that have finished or plan to complete converting non-tradable shares into free-floating equities, the Shanghai Securities News reported yesterday.
The stock price of listed companies will become one of the targets when the state-asset regulator evaluates the performance of senior corporate executives at the end of each year, the report said.
Jiangxi copper Co, China's largest producer of the metal, slid 0.21 percent at 4.84 yuan after the country sold 20,000 tons of copper reserves to curb price rises.