Chinese shares slightly higher in morning trade

SHANGHAI, May 9 -- China share prices were slightly higher in Friday morning trade as sentiment improved after Ping An Insurance held off its massive refinancing plan, dealers said.

They said Ping An's delay of fund-raising activities was expected to stabilise current weakness in the market. The key index has tumbled around forty percent since its peak last October.

Ping An Insurance Group, the country's second largest insurer, opened up nearly five percent after announcing that it will not file any application to issue new shares in the next six months.

Ping An first announced the plan in January to issue as many as 1.2 billion A shares and 41.2 billion yuan (5.9 billion dollars) in bonds with warrants, which raised fears about oversupply and led to a huge sell-off.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, was up 12.05 points or 0.33 percent to 3,668.89 at 9:54 am (0154 GMT).

The Shanghai A-share index gained 12.57 points or 0.33 percent to 3,849.65 points, while the Shenzhen A-share index added 8.95 points or 0.77 percent to 1,166.95.

(Agencies)