Chinese regulator approves less IPOs

BEIJING -- China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has approved the IPO applications of four companies, fewer than the seven approved last week.

The four companies will raise no more than 1.5 billion yuan (about $220 million), a CSRC statement said late Friday.

The amount was much less than the 2.3 billion yuan greenlighted to be raised by the seven IPOs the previous week.

Two companies will be listed on Shanghai Stock Exchange, one on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange's Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Board and one on the ChiNext, China's NASDAQ-style board.

The firms and their underwriters will confirm IPO dates and publish prospectuses following discussions with the exchanges.

Under the current IPO system, new shares are subject to approval from the CSRC. China is gradually switching from an approval-based IPO system to a more market-oriented one based on registration.