Shanghai stocks rebound on news of faster 5G commercialization

Shanghai stocks rebounded on Friday, led by gains in telecommunication shares after China’s top ministry said it will further accelerate the commercialization of 5G.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.49 percent to close at 2,889.76 points. For the week, the gauge dropped 4.37 percent as investors became cautious due to rising trade tensions between the US and China.

Telecommunication companies, electronics firms and brokerages are among the biggest gainers. On Thursday, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said the country will further accelerate the commercialization of 5G technologies.

The ministry also mentioned that it will unveil a radio-frequency spectrum map and issue commercial licenses to telecom carriers in time, in order to meet the demand for 5G network development and widening applications.

Chen Zhaoxiong, vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that the government encourages enterprises to further promote 5G application in industry, energy, transportation, health care, environmental protection and smart cities sectors.

Telecommunication shares rose on the news that three major telecom carriers including China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom announced on Friday that they will eliminate charges for domestic roaming data use starting from July 1.

Market sentiment was also improved after the central bank’s injection of 70 billion yuan (US$10.8 billion) into the financial market through reverse repurchase agreements, according to a statement published on the PBOC’s official website.

Gome Telecom Equipment Co Ltd rose 5.56 percent to 9.87 yuan, and Qingdao Topscomm Communication Inc advanced 4.14 percent to 17.09 yuan.