Amid epidemic, China to see first online IPO ceremony

BEIJING - China will see its first-ever online initial public offering ceremony Monday as the country's major bourse seeks to keep the sense of ritual intact amid the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19).

The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) will put on an IPO ceremony in video form on its website for BESTORE, a snack brand headquartered in Wuhan, the epidemic's epicenter, the bourse said Sunday.

The online IPO ceremony will retain the main sections and elements of offline ones, with a video simulation of gong beating, the climax part of a traditional IPO ritual.

Applicants for the innovative service can submit certain clips and other material to the SSE, which will finish the video production for them. IPO firms can also choose to livestream the ceremony.

The new service is the bourse's latest move to push ahead with serving the capital market against the epidemic headwinds. It has offered IPO-related services to hundreds of firms via telecommuting.