More data to come with new listings
Beijing is planning a 'breakthrough' in stock and debt issues next year and will aim to improve the transparency of listed firms, a senior mainland official says.
The deputy minister of the State Commission for Restructuring the Economy, Zhang Haoruo, did not give a timetable or the size of new issues.
State Economic and Trade Commission Minister Wang Zhongyu said late last week the mainland planned to raise at least 100 billion yuan (about HK$93.08 billion) from stock markets at home and abroad next year.
The mainland raised 147.5 billion yuan this year.
Mr Zhang said Beijing would select quality firms for listings, expand the size of convertible bond issues, ease rules for qualified firms to issue bonds overseas and speed up drafting of rules on formation of industrial investment funds and Sino-foreign investment funds, the Xinhua news agency reported.
He said state firms were still too dependent on bank loans, and those firms would be encouraged to raise money directly on capital markets.
Mr Zhang also said Beijing would tighten approval procedures for firms intending to list and would try to boost the transparency of listed firms.
The ministry would also formulate a plan to enable shares controlled by the government and corporations to be traded on the stock markets.
To date, more than 800 mainland companies have listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets.
In the first 11 months, 185 firms issued A shares, which only mainlanders are allowed to buy, and 15 companies issued B shares, which are designed for foreign investors.
