China lifts freeze on IPOs – five to list, 83 more to follow

BEIJING - The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has given the green light to five domestic companies for the launch of their initial public offerings in early January after a year-long moratorium. Three of them will be listed on ChiNext, China’s version of Nasdaq, while the other two will be listed on the over-the-counter stock exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Wolw Boitech, a biotechnology pharmaceutical company, plans to raise up to RMB57 million by selling 30 million shares. It is the only one of the five to have disclosed its offering price range. Latest CSRC filings show another 83 companies have passed the regulator's reviews and are approved to list early in 2014. Another 755 applicants are seeking approval.

China halted new listings in the fourth quarter of 2012 in an effort to prop up the ailing stock market and reframe the country's IPO mechanism following alleged fraud and misconduct by a number of investors. With the reopening of IPOs, the regulator has introduced tougher measures to let the market play a bigger role, clamp down on speculation, and protect investors' interests.