IPOs to raise over $20b on China's A-share market in 2019

BEIJING - Initial public offerings (IPOs) are expected to raise 140 billion yuan ($20.3 billion) to 170 billion yuan on the Chinese mainland stock market next year, according to a report from auditing and consultancy firm Deloitte China.

Around 110 to 150 companies are expected to go public on the A-share market in 2019, the China Securities Journal cited the report as predicting.

This year, funds raised through IPOs on the market are likely to reach 140.2 billion yuan, the report estimated. That would be a 39-percent decline from 2017.

Though the IPO reviews have become stricter than before, continuous reforms have made it easier for companies to access financing on the capital market, the newspaper quoted Tong Chuanjiang, a Deloitte China representative in charge of A-share IPO business for northern China, as saying.

New listings on the A-share market are likely to get a boost from factors such as the government's decision to launch a science and technology innovation board in Shanghai and experiment with a registration system for listed companies, Tong said.

In 2019, most newly-listed companies would be small- and medium-sized manufacturers, technology firms and enterprises in the consumption sector, according to the report.