FTZ likely to let foreign firms sell shares

International companies registered in the Shanghai free-trade zone may be approved to raise funds by selling stakes, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter. Beijing maintains a tight grip on its stock markets and doesn’t allow foreign companies to issue shares in the world’s second-largest economy. But now authorities are working on a proposal that would enable qualified foreign companies to sell shares on a designated trading platform to be set up in the zone, one of the people with knowledge of the matter said Monday. The proposed platform is likely to serve as a test bed for the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s long-delayed international board.