Update | Xiongan firms could skip IPO queue under proposed ‘extraordinary financial measures’
Hebei will also ask for special credit support from the PBOC for companies involved in the development of the Xiongan New Area
North China’s Hebei province has proposed a VIP fast track mechanism that would enable local firms to jump a line of 500 companies awaiting approval for initial public offerings (IPO), according to an official document issued by the provincial financial affairs department on Tuesday, obtained by the South China Morning Post.
In a bid to facilitate plans to build the Xiongan New Area, Hebei’s finance affairs office said it would use “extraordinary financial measures” to push for the development of the special economic zone, including applying for a fast-track IPO channel for local companies, asking for special credit support from the central bank, and setting up all kinds of financial institutions branded with “Xiongan”, the document said.
The plan to develop three sleepy, backwater counties into a thriving, futuristic city just south of Beijing which could relieve overcrowding and pollution in the capital, was announced by the central government early this month. It was referred to as a “thousand-year” plan in a circular issued by Beijing.
“We will coordinate with the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and ask for a fast track for public listing for companies based in Xiongan and surrounding regions,” the provincial financial affairs office said in the document.
China’s IPO market is notorious for the exceptionally long review process.