Gambling on Shell Companies' Stocks Resurfaces

(Beijing) — China's strictly controlled stock issuance system has produced one unlikely hot commodity — shell firms. And although Beijing cracked down on them recently, they're coming back in vogue.

Shell firms are companies that have little investment value in their own right. They are sought after because they can be used to help other companies get a "backdoor listing" — the right to trade on an exchange without first having an initial public offering (IPO).