EVEN by the standards set in China’s slumping stock market this year, this is extreme.

Shanghai RAAS Blood Products Co., which manufactures and develops human blood products, resumed trading this month following a suspension in February pending what the company referred to as a “major restructuring.” Its shares have plunged by their 10 percent daily limit for 10 consecutive sessions, losing 63.2 billion yuan (US$9.2 billion) in value.

It has been bitten by China’s US$2 trillion equity market decline this year. Shanghai RAAS’ tumble has triggered margin calls on shares that have been pledged as collateral for loans, sending it further into a spiral.

“Investors are fleeing after Shanghai RAAS resumed trading, triggering margin calls, which have only created more panic selling,” said Lu Chang- shun, fund manager at Beijing Dajun Zhimeng Investment Management Co.

Shanghai RAAS said in January 2015 it would begin investing in stocks, after the Shanghai Composite Index surged 21 percent the previous month. This year’s decline, in which the index has plunged about 23 percent, has dealt a heavy blow to its equity holdings.

It accrued losses of nearly 900 million yuan from securities investments alone in the first nine months of this year, compared with a 100 million yuan profit a year earlier. (SD-Agencies)