Chinese listed companies heed government's call for market stimulus

HONG KONG -- Hundreds of mainland Chinese listed companies have publicly declared they will take part in the government's call to prop up the stock market and the overall economy, openly pledging to "enhance corporate quality."

The actual moves come in different forms. Most Shanghai-listed companies are promising share buybacks or having their key stakeholders increase their holdings to indicate confidence. According to research by Nikkei Asia, as of Thursday, over 200 companies have made such official disclosures on the stock exchange since the end of January, citing the same notion of establishing an "action plan to 'enhance corporate quality, increase efficiency and stress shareholders' returns.'"