China to prolong adjustment period of registration-based stock

BEIJING - China's top legislature plans to prolong a mandate, which allows the State Council to make adjustment for reforms that will change the stock listing system from approval-based to registration-based, for another two years to Feb 29, 2020.

The draft decision was submitted to a session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislature, for review on Friday.

The Standing Committee of the NPC authorized the State Council on Dec 27, 2015 to adjust rules based on the securities law to allow the stock listing system to be changed from approval-based to registration-based. The changes will expire Feb. 28, 2018.

The proposed extension aims to maintain the consistency of the policy and avoid doubt in the market, while gaining practical experience for securities law amendment, said Liu Shiyu, chairman of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the top securities regulator.

Under the current IPO system, new shares are subject to approval by the CSRC.

China is gradually switching from an approval-based IPO system to a more market-oriented system based on registration.

The CSRC will continue to push forward registration-based stock listing reform and will submit a detailed plan to the State Council when the market is ripe for implementation, according to Liu.

The authorities will strengthen supervision to guard against and defuse risks to protect investors' rights, Liu added.