“Minority Shareholder Protection in China’s Top 100 Listed Companies”

Abstract

It has been argued that the legal environment for the protection of minority shareholders is important in determining the strength of a country’s capital markets. In China, the protection of minority shareholders is officially regarded as a major regulatory objective, especially as regards Chinese stock exchange listed companies. In practice, the position of minority share­holders in these companies is not well protected, suggesting that economic development and investment in listed companies do not fit neatly with expectations created by leading law and development theorists. This article reports on findings from an empirically based study of corporate governance in China’s top 100 listed companies that examined a broad range of corporate governance issues, including the problem of minority shareholder protection. Major challenges to achieving better protection for minority shareholders in large Chinese companies emerged from this research.