China's stock market expects lock-up agreements covering CNY 64.19 billion (USD10.19 billion) of shares to expire next week, which has only two trading days because of the New Year holiday.
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The figure, more than 50 percent higher than the amount this week, was also the largest since mid-August, Southwest Securities analyst Zhang Gang said.
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The 10.06 billion shares of 56 listed companies will become eligible to be sold on Monday or Friday, and the shares may have a psychological impact on the stock market, analysts said.
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China started a program in 2005 to convert non-tradable shares into tradable stocks. Major shareholders of non-tradable stocks are subject to one or two years of lock-up.
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Slowing growth in the world's second-largest economy has dragged China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down by as much as 21 percent from its peak this year before it was shored up by improving economic data.Â