At 10pm on Monday the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Ministry of Finance, China Banking Regulatory Commission and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council jointly announced a raft of measures meant to give a shot in the arm to the mainland’s stock market after the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended the month of August down 12.49%, according to the state-run China News Network. The measures included: Actively encouraging companies to grant shareholders cash dividends; supporting listed companies’ buying back their own shares; encouraging listed companies to engage in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) through simplifying approvals processes; pushing banks to support M&A through loans and credit; and offering financial support for international M&A through various channels.