Soccer club kicks off new chapter with float

A leading Chinese soccer club has applied to become the first to list on the stock market, according to filings made public on Wednesday.

The Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club, four-time champion of the Chinese Super League which recently signed Brazilian World Cup winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, filed with the National Equities Exchange and Quotations to list on the New Third Board, which has attracted some 2,500 firms, 77 percent of them technology firms, since launching in late 2012.

Industry insiders said the future listing would not only help the club's owner better focus on its core business and increase its market value, but also boost the club's strength.