STAR Market: 1st batch of firms to go public in July

The first batch of public companies for the STAR Market at the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) will hold their listing ceremony on July 22, said the trading house on Friday.

By July 4, a total of 25 companies have had their initial public offering registration approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission. They will be the first number of listed companies at the technology-focused board, said the Shanghai bourse.

The first companies will go through stress testing and a comprehensive business test for the trading system prior to the official trading.

Initiated in early November, the Nasdaq-like STAR Market was officially launched on June 13. SSE has accepted listing applications by Thursday from 141 companies, of which 118 have received their first round of inquiry from the exchange.

Between July 1 and 5, SSE held a trading program for board secretaries with the first STAR board-listed companies. A total of 114 companies, whose applications for the tech board were accepted by SSE, attended the trading program.