Government stock market regulators announced August 24 that the share merger reform would be extended to the whole market, sparking a smart rally on the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses. Five departments of the national government announced guidelines pushing the reform process ahead, after the pilot projects on share mergers proved successful and were well received by the markets. This prepared the ground for expanding the reform, according to the official circular, which outlines the general direction of the process. The latest reform is the third attempt at share mergers; two previous efforts in 1999 and 2001 failed to address the problem.