(ATF) The Shenzhen Stock Exchange has started reviewing the first batch of applications for initial public offerings (IPO) under the pilot registration-based system on its ChiNext, China’s Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises.
The stock exchange said in an online statement that it has accepted 32 IPO applications, one refinancing application, and has put prospectuses and other documents online for information disclosure.
The move marks another step forward in the reform of ChiNext and its pilot registration-based system, said the statement.
China decided in late April to reform ChiNext and replace its approval-based IPO system with the registration-based one, introducing a series of measures on June 12 in a bid to better cultivate new industry start-ups and bolster the real economy.
The board, more inclusive and open after the reform, will facilitate access to financing for promising innovation companies and become a leading force of China’s industrial upgrading, Dong Dengxin, head of a financial research institute under Wuhan University of Science and Technology, told Securities Daily.
Li Zhan, chief economist with Zhongshan Securities, said that the reform will enhance market activity and pricing efficiency as well as lower financing costs for companies.