Photo:Xinhua

A COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by Chinese conglomerate Fosun in collaboration with foreign partners Pfizer and BioNTech is "90 percent effective," Fosun chairman Guo Guangchang said Monday, raising hopes the company's coronavirus vaccine will soon be available in China.

In a Wechat post late Monday, Guo said he received news from Fosun's two partners that based on early data from a phase three clinical trial their jointly developed messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine was up to 90 percent effective, far higher than previous estimates.

This compares to the average flu shot's 70 percent effectiveness and a minimum of 50 percent required for approval by the US Food and Drug Administration, Guo's post read.

The news gave a big boost to global markets. US stocks opened sharply higher Monday. The Dow opened up 4 percent to be nearing 30,000 points, reaching an all-time high. The S&P 500 index swiftly extended its gain to hit a fresh record, and 50 minutes after opening the NASDAQ also touched a new high.

European stocks embraced the massive rally, while China's A50 futures also posted a notable gain.

Hailing the vaccine as a victory for science and global cooperation, Guo said in his Wechat post that "today is a milestone that marks the dawn of victory in the battle against COVID-19."

The Shanghai-based conglomerate will maintain close communication with regulatory and licensing authorities, and hopes on-going research and testing will show the vaccine complies with Chinese laws and will be available as quickly as possible, wrote Guo.