Tibetan IPO rush continues with new Shanghai listing

LHASA - The number of listed companies in southwest China's Tibet autonomous region has risen to 13 after Tibet Huayu Mining Co Ltd joined their ranks.

With the government encouraging Tibetan IPOs to boost the region's economy, Huayu's shares on the Shanghai stock exchange jumped by the maximum allowance of 44 percent on Wednesday's first day of trading and by the daily limit of 10 percent to 11.37 yuan ($1.75) per share on Thursday.

Established in 2002 in Lhasa with a registered capital of 468 million yuan, the company is engaged in exploitation, processing, sales and prospecting of non-ferrous metal. It has two mining projects for production and four for prospecting, with total assets exceeding 1 billion yuan.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) approved Huayu's IPO application in November.

Chen Manjiang, deputy director of the regional government's finance office, said the listing indicates the capital market is becoming an increasingly important part of the regional economy.

In March last year, the CSRC vowed to prioritize IPOs by Tibetan companies zand create a "multi-layer equity market" in the region.

It said it would help Tibet's businesses to issue corporate bonds on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges as well as through the new national stock transfer system for smaller firms.

Tibet's 12 listed companies reported a total market value of 140.76 billion yuan at the end of 2015, about 1.37 times as much as the region's GDP for that year, according to the regional securities regulator.

Another 33 Tibetan businesses are planning to go public.