UBS AG bought four blue-chip stocks trading on China's Class-A share market yesterday, making the Swiss bank the first foreign investor to participate in the country's decade-old equity market.

　　At 10:18 am, 48 minutes after trading began, UBS snapped up an unspecified amount of yuan-denominated Class-A shares in Baoshan Iron & Steel Co Ltd, ZTE Corp, Shanghai Port Container Co Ltd and Sinotrans Air Transportation Development Co Ltd, through Shenyin & Wanguo Securities Co Ltd.

　　ZTE Corp, the telecommunication equipment maker that is listed on the Shenzhen stock market, gained the most among the four stocks, closing 2.10 percent higher at 18.46 yuan.

　　Shanghai Port Container rose 1.18 percent to 12.83 yuan and Baoshan Iron & Steel, the listed arm of the country's most profitable steelmaker, Shanghai Baosteel Group Corp, rose 0.95 percent to 5.29 yuan.

　　Sinotrans Air Transportation Development was the only stock that saw the downside of the four, dipping 0.15 percent to 20.55 yuan.

　　It was estimated UBS might have built heavy positions in Baoshan Iron & Steel, which witnessed 18.38 million shares changing hand yesterday, and stayed light on Sinotrans Air Transportation Development as the trading volume was few and far between.

　　However, the landmark purchase failed to boost tradings on the across-the-board market yesterday.

　　Analysts said the capital UBS used to move into the four firms was only a sliver of the US million investment quota it has received from the Chinese government.

　　UBS declined to reveal the amount of its investment yesterday.

　　"It is not important to tell how many shares we hold in the four stocks," said Nicole Yuen, head of China Equities at UBS. "The key point is that we will hold the four stocks long term."

　　The UBS researcher said her company is interested in buying into big-capitalization stocks and listed companies with transparent corporate management system, high profitability and leaders in the domestic markets.

　　"This is just the beginning," said John Holland, UBS's Asia Equities head.

　　"The response from clients has exceeded our expectations. We have seen a very positive interest from a broad range of investors from around the world."

　　In addition, UBS plans to buy treasury bonds and convertible bonds that trade in the A-share market soon, Yuen said.