The FT reports:

The Shanghai government agency responsible for clearing drains and repairing lifts in apartment buildings has emerged as a leading shareholder in at least three listed companies, in spite of being barred from such risky investments.

The agency – whose full name is the Shanghai Municipal Housing Maintenance Fund Management – appears on lists of the top 10 shareholders of companies in the aerospace, electronics and energy sectors traded on the Shenzhen stock exchange.

The three holdings are together worth about Rmb788m ($100m).

The revelation will add to concerns that different parts of the government have invested heavily in shares – often illegally – during the recent boom in the mainland market and could be exposed to losses if there were a crash.

To read more:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/6087ff16-06fa-11dc-93e1-000b5df10621,dwp_uuid=9c33700c-4c86-11da-89df-0000779e2340,_i_rssPage=9c33700c-4c86-11da-89df-0000779e2340.html