CHINA Shenhua Energy Co.’s special dividend took the market by surprise, but it didn’t take long for shares of other State-run companies to catch a bid.

    China Mobile Ltd. and Daqin Railway Co. have jumped since Beijing-based Shenhua Energy’s announcement of a 2.51 yuan (36 U.S. cents)-per-share special payout fueled speculation other State-owned enterprises (SOEs) could follow suit.

    Investors have long lobbied for better shareholder returns from State-owned behemoths, and Shenhua’s move, which saw its stock soar Monday and Tuesday, provided a concrete sign companies may finally be listening.

    “Never in the history of State-owned enterprises have we seen this kind of dividend pay,” said Yu Laban, head of Asian oil and gas equity at Jefferies Hong Kong Ltd. “This is a big deal — there is a lot of pressure on these State-owned enterprises to pay dividends.”

    Shenhua’s special dividend is indicative of a shift in China’s attitude toward SOEs — away from being mainly vehicles for keeping workers employed, Yu said. State-run companies should enhance their mechanisms for paying dividends as part of a wider move to restructure, Xiao Yaqing, head of the government body that supervises SOEs, said earlier this month, according to a transcript posted to the news portal of the State Council.

    China Mobile, Daqin Railway, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and Anhui Conch Cement Co. are among companies that could be “the next China Shenhua,” analysts led by Wang Hanfeng at China International Capital Corp. said in a research note Monday. The brokerage selected SOEs with relatively low debt-to-asset ratios and good cash levels when determining which companies may be more likely to issue high dividends.

    Following on Shenhua’s heels, China Telecom Corp. announced a record-high dividend Tuesday for the 2016 year. The HK$0.105 (1.4 U.S. cents) offer represents a payout ratio of up to 43 percent, said Christopher Lane, a senior research analyst on Asian telecommunications at Sanford C Bernstein HK Ltd. That would be the highest ratio since 2013.

    While acknowledging Shenhua’s move was a “bellwether” for the SOE sector in a note Monday, Yu and his fellow analysts at Jefferies said it’s likely to be a “one-off,” in a separate report.

    Other Asian nations have also prodded large-cap companies over shareholder returns, with mixed results. (SD-Agencies)