Photo taken on Aug. 24, 2020 shows the bell-ringing ceremony during the listing ceremony of the first batch of registration-based initial public offerings (IPOs) of enterprises debuted on the ChiNext board at Shenzhen Stock Exchange in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Aug. 24, 2020. The first batch of registration-based initial public offerings (IPOs) of 18 enterprises debuted on Monday on the ChiNext board, China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, marking a milestone for the country's capital market reforms. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)
SHENZHEN, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- The first batch of registration-based initial public offerings (IPOs) of 18 enterprises debuted on Monday on the ChiNext board, China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, marking a milestone for the country's capital market reforms.
Stock prices of all 18 firms rose on Monday, with that of 10 firms more than doubling from the initial offer price. Contec Medical Systems Co., Ltd. saw its share price soar by 1,061.42 percent to 118 yuan (about 17.05 U.S. dollars) per share.
Boosted by the debut, the ChiNext Index led the gains among other major indices by closing at 1.98 percent higher to 2,684.63 points.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, who described the move as an important junction in China's capital market construction, said the ChiNext reform and the pilot registration-based IPO system will pave the way for the future rollout of the system on the main board and the SME board.
With the reform and opening-up measures gradually being phased in and progress being made in institutional improvement, China's capital market is undergoing profound structural changes, said the vice premier at a ceremony celebrating the debut.
Adopted in June 2020 after soliciting public feedback, the pilot registration-based IPO system is designed to ease enterprises' burdens, and increase transparency with an open and paperless application review process.
Liu said that he hopes the ChiNext board would better serve growth enterprises, support more high-quality companies to list in domestic markets, and contribute to the building of a multi-level capital market.
The reform of the ChiNext and the pilot registration-based IPO system are major initiatives to optimize the basic system of the capital market after the reform of the sci-tech innovation board, said Yi Huiman, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).
The reform progress is also of great significance to support the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Shenzhen, as well as better serve the high-quality development of the real economy, Yi said.
The Shenzhen Stock Exchange, where the ChiNext board is listed, vowed to offer better services to growth-oriented innovative and start-up enterprises, while promoting in-depth integration of traditional industries with new technologies, industries, and business modes, according to Wang Jianjun, the president of the exchange.
Aimed at improving the market's transparency and authenticity while strengthening supervision, the system places information disclosure at its core, while intensifying responsibilities of issuers and intermediary agencies, as well as simplifying delisting procedures.
With listing requirements loosened through the registration-based reform, new business modes and companies are provided with access to financing on the board to serve the real economy more extensively and deeply, said Zeng Peng from Bosera Funds.
It is a comprehensive and systematic step to reform the ChiNext and pilot registration-based IPO system by decentralizing the registration authority, gradually reducing restrictions on stock trading, and making the market play a better role in information and pricing, as well as clarifying indicators and procedures for delisting, said Tian Lihui, a finance professor with Nankai University.
After more than a decade of growth, over 800 companies are listed on the ChiNext, with a market value of more than 9 trillion yuan.
Looking ahead, Yi pledged more efforts will be made to give greater play to market forces, improve the quality of listed companies, deepen the capital market reform, and support long-term performance-oriented institutional investors, as well as further promote full disclosure of information.
The CSRC said in a statement earlier that it will evaluate the experience from the reform of the sci-tech and ChiNext markets in time, and make plans for registration-based reform in other sectors to steadily achieve the goals of reforming registration systems in stages. Enditem
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