More than 120,000 invalid accounts have been terminated from the securities exchange system today as part of a campaign to crack down on illegal trading, according to China's securities regulator.

By yesterday, securities firms around the country had reported 8.6 million invalid accounts to the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

Most of the accounts had been suspended from trading for years and the holders were not available, Xinhuanet.com reported.

It was reported that holders could still recover their terminated accounts at the firm where the account was opened by August 1 otherwise they will need to go to the China Securities Depository and Clearing Co Ltd.

Meanwhile, 20.23 million inactive accounts were frozen from trading and moved to a different database as of October 8, last year, the report said.

Inactive accounts refer to those with balances so low that they can't make a stock purchase. Holders of inactive accounts can apply to reactivate them. Securities firms need to apply to the regulator before freezing an account.

(Shanghai Daily May 12, 2008)