Final touches on IPOs signal closer listings

BEIJING - New listings are immanent as China's equity market authorities asked brokers to add the final touches to IPO files, the China Securities Journal reported on Monday.

A number of brokers were asked to complete IPO files for clients last Friday, the newspaper said. Completion of these files, including IPO plans and prospectuses, is a decisive step before shares finally hit the market.

Under the current approval-based system, applicants have to go through several rounds of inspection. If all goes smoothly, applicants that have completed their IPO files are likely to get a final go-ahead in about two weeks.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission plans to give the greenlight to some 100 IPO applicants from June to the yearend. About 600 companies are now awaiting listing on China's two stock exchanges.

The restart of IPOs is widely seen as problematic because a wave of new shares, some of which are feared to come from unqualified issuers, will dilute market value and possibly cause losses to individual investors.

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