The Chinese government has suspended new initial public offerings in its domestic markets to clear the way for the sale of $200bn (€167bn) in government shares. The Shanghai composite index, the main domestic Chinese benchmark, fell 0.6% today to an eight-year low.

Around 65% of Chinese market capitalisation is in the form of non-traded shares. The process of selling blocks of government-owned shares in listed companies is known in China as a composition programme.