(Yicai Global) Aug. 4 -- Shares in Jiangsu Jinling Sports Equipment, Lander Sports Development, Beijing Sanfo Outdoor Products and as many as seven other sports companies surged by the exchange-imposed daily limit today after the Chinese government said it will promote more physical exercise among the public.

Jinling Sports’ share price [SHE:300651] shot up 20 percent to CNY41.90 (USD6.50), while both Lander Sports [SHE:000558] and Sanfo Outdoor [SHE:002780] gained by 10 percent to CNY2.80 and CNY19.40 respectively. Stocks on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s ChiNext Board have a higher daily ceiling than those on the main board.

To get more people exercising, the government will build more public sports venues and facilities, host more games and competitions and promote the high-quality development of the sports industry, the State Council said in a circular released yesterday. Some 38.5 percent of the population should be taking regular physical exercise by 2025, it added.

The national fitness plan will boost the scale of China’s sports industry to CNY5 trillion (USD774 billion) by 2025 from CNY3 trillion last year, the cabinet said.

At the moment, just 5 percent of China’s population belong to sports clubs, compared with 8.1 percent in Europe and 15.2 percent in the US, according to a Dongguan Securities report. To get to the same level as the US, China will need to form 90,000 new sports clubs and attract 140 million new members.

Editor: Kim Taylor