China expands registration-based IPOs to whole market

The China Securities Regulatory Commission released 57 sets of rules on Friday to adopt registration-based IPOs across the whole market, effective from Friday, marking a milestone in China's capital market development.

Securities exchanges and market infrastructure providers also unveiled and enforced supportive rules on Friday, making the registration-based system cover the whole market and all kinds of public stock offerings.

The new rules have streamlined listing requirements, abolished administrative restrictions on the price and size of IPOs, and removed the committees at the CSRC to review and approve listings and listed companies' mergers and acquisitions.

Market supervision and investor protection are strengthened under the new rules, as legal breaches in the process of securities issuance and underwriting will be strictly punished according to law, the commission said in a statement on Friday.

The full implementation of registration-based IPOs came after the CSRC solicited public opinions on relevant draft rules from Feb 1 to Thursday. 

The commission adopted 89 suggestions, including intensifying the crackdown on illegal behaviors and clarifying the duty of independent financial consultants, the statement said.