(Yicai) Dec. 18 -- A total of 813 companies listed in the Chinese mainland have already completed the payment of cash dividends so far this year.

668 of them distributed dividends in the second half of the year, and the remaining 132 did so in the fourth quarter, according to financial data provider Choice. They compare with 194 and 63, respectively, in the same periods of last year.

China Mobile paid a total of CNY51 billion (USD7 billion) in dividends this year, the most among mainland-listed companies, according to Wind Information. PetroChina ranked second with CNY40.2 billion, followed by China National Offshore Oil Corporation with CNY32.1 billion.

China Petrochemical Corporation, Ping An Insurance, China Telecom, and Kweichow Moutai distributed over CNY10 billion in cash dividends each this year.

As of Dec. 14, 3,966 Chinese mainland-listed companies had announced their cash dividend payout schemes, up 12.1 percent from a year earlier, according to Choice data.

About 50 Chinese firms have disclosed plans to share profits this month alone, including battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology. On Dec. 10, CATL said it would pay dividends of CNY1.23 (17 US cents) per share for a total of CNY5.4 billion (USD741.3 million).

China Securities Depository and Clearing announced yesterday that from next year, it would halve the commission Chinese mainland-listed firms have to pay when distributing dividends to 0.5 per mille to stimulate profit sharing and increase investors' returns. The commission will be exempted if it exceeds CNY1.5 million (USD250,925).

The upward trend of the Chinese stock market driven by profit sharing may continue next year, thanks to the stable economic recovery and increased profitability of listed companies, Tian Lihui, director of Nankai University's Institute of Finance and Development, told Yicai.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione