Shanghai exchange to allow investors to buy IPOs using margin accounts - state newspaper

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The Shanghai Stock Exchange, China's biggest bourse, will allow investors to use margin trading accounts to buy shares in initial public offerings, the official Securities Times reported on Thursday. The move could further fuel a rally in the stock market, which has seen the Shanghai Composite Index of top Shanghai-listed shares gain nearly 25 percent so far this year. Investors will be able to buy into IPOs on the Shanghai stock exchange from Dec. 1, the paper said, citing a statement by the exchange. The country's stock regulator said on Friday that there would not be a rush of IPOs at year-end, although the number of deals so far is short of its target. Officials at the Shanghai stock exchange could not be reached for comment. (Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Writing by Engen Tham; Editing by Kazunori Takada & Kim Coghill)