China will allow more IPOs to lure capital

SHANGHAI: China will allow more companies to list on its stock market to boost support for its economy, the nation's top securities regulator said, dismissing concerns that more supplies of shares can depress the market.

The capital market's recovery from a 2015 rout has been stronger than expected and is now ready for “appropriately" larger supplies of initial public offerings, China Securities Regulatory Commission Chairman Liu Shiyu said Sunday in Beijing, citing a “mainstream“ view.

The regulator's faster approval of IPOs last year had been “welcomed" by the market, he said, adding that the effects from previous practices of slowing or suspending share sales amid market downturns have proven “not good."

“The entry of new companies can increase market liquidity and can attract additional capital," Liu told reporters. “As investment value increases, confidence of the entire society strengthens." While quickening IPOs as the market recovers from its $5 trillion rout in the summer of 2015, the regulator this month also announced new curbs on additional fundraising by listed companies.