Chinese companies whose names start with “Shanghai” are riding the recent buying frenzy among stock traders. In October, Shanghai party secretary Han Zheng said the city was drawing up a plan for a free-trade port, a term that was mentioned in President Xi Jinping’s work report to the 19th party congress. The port is regarded as an upgraded version of the 12 free-trade zones already established in the country, where new measures such as financial deregulation are being tested. That immediately spurred investor interest in shares related to this theme. Shanghai International Port, which operates the world’s busiest container port, has surged 18 per cent over the past week while Shanghai Jiao Yun Group, which provides passenger and freight transport services, rallied 5.9 per cent on Monday after jumping by the 10 per cent daily limit on Friday. Shanghai Material Trading, a trader in goods from metals to car accessories, has also surged 10 per cent for two consecutive days.