On October 8, the Chinese stock market saw a remarkable surge, but beneath this rising tide, a quiet trend of share sales is emerging. Recent statistics reveal that over 100 A-share listed companies disclosed plans or progress regarding share reductions between September 24 and October 7, with some sales amounting to billions of yuan.

Take China Electric Power, for instance. On the evening of October 7, the company announced that multiple shareholders, including the National Integrated Circuit Fund and several venture capital firms, were planning to offload their holdings. Notably, the National Integrated Circuit Fund intends to sell 1.9531 million shares, which is about 0.257% of the total shares outstanding.

This wave of share reductions isn’t just limited to institutional investors; several top executives are also cashing out. For example, Jia Tongchun, the Vice Chairman of Beixin Building Materials, along with their concerted action partners, plans to collectively sell 3.5 million shares, translating to 0.21% of the company’s total stock.

Moreover, executives from TBEA Co., Ltd.—Hu Nan, Hu Youcheng, and Wu Wei—have proposed selling a total of 669,000 shares. Similarly, Wang Dongxu, a director at Yuheng Pharmaceutical, plans to reduce his holdings by 210,000 shares.

Market analysts believe that the uptick in executive sell-offs can be traced back to three primary reasons. First, an extended period of low stock prices has left some executives holding shares at a loss. Second, many of these executives may have a higher cost basis for shares acquired previously. Finally, the recent rebound in A-shares offers a strategic opportunity for these individuals to divest.

This trend raises questions about the confidence some executives have in their companies’ future prospects and hints at a potential need for personal asset reallocation.

Among the notable sell-offs, there are instances of significant share reductions exceeding one hundred million yuan, capturing market attention. A case in point is Dongpeng Beverages, where shareholders from the Tianjin Junzheng Entrepreneur Investment Partnership reduced their holdings by 4.36 million shares between July 25 and September 24, with an average selling price of 221.74 yuan (approximately $31.30), resulting in total proceeds of around 968 million yuan (about $130 million).