China’s Securities Association of China said that 21 large brokerage firms had agreed to set up a fund worth at least RMB120 billion (US$19.4 billion) to buy shares in the largest, most stable companies and to stop selling shares from their own portfolios in the wake of serious declines on China’s stock markets in recent weeks, The New York Times reported. On Saturday evening, China’s two stock exchanges — in Shanghai and Shenzhen — issued notices suspending initial public offerings until further notice, even for companies that already had provisional approval to list their shares.