China's A-share market sees robust IPO activity in H1: PwC

BEIJING - Unaffected by the novel coronavirus outbreak, China's A-share market saw robust initial public offerings (IPOs) activity in the first half of the year, data from global auditing and consultancy firm PwC showed.

The number of IPOs stood at 118 in the A-share market during the January-June period, with the amount of fundraising totaling 139.3 billion yuan (about $19.72 billion), surging 84 percent and 131 percent, respectively, from the same period last year, PwC noted.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange recorded 73 IPOs, with the science and technology innovation board, also known as the STAR market, hosting 46 IPOs. The amount of fundraising on the STAR market totaled 50.8 billion yuan.

The STAR market, which was inaugurated in June last year, was designed to support companies in the high-tech and emerging sectors. It aims to ease listing criteria but adopts higher requirements for information disclosure.

Considering the attraction of the STAR market and other reforms in the securities market, PwC expects the number of IPOs in the A-share market to exceed 300 for 2020 and the volume of fundraising to surpass 300 billion yuan.