China to maintain stability of stock market despite outbreak

China's top securities regulator said on Saturday that it will continue to maintain the stability of the stock market and will work to ensure the regular approval of initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions despite the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia.

The disease has exerted some impact on IPO activities and mergers and acquisitions. But the regulator has adopted policies including extending the validity of regulatory permissions to ensure normal review and approval of IPOs and M&A transactions, said Yan Qingmin, vice-chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, at a news conference in Beijing.

Yan said that the impact of the outbreak will likely be short-lived and it will not derail China's capital market reforms and the efforts to build a rules-based securities market. The regulator will continue to deepen reforms on the STAR Market in Shanghai and the ChiNext board in Shenzhen and it will seek to expand the volume of corporate financing, raise the quality of listed companies and improve delisting rules and procedures, he added.

Meanwhile, the regulator has accelerated the approval of corporate bonds and asset-backed securities to support companies in fighting the contagion.

As of Friday, the regulator has approved bond issuance of 2.8 billion yuan ($400 million) by companies registered in Wuhan, Hubei province, the outbreak epicenter. The regulator has approved corporate bonds and asset-backed securities worth a total of 11.23 billion yuan and part of the funds will be used for disease control and prevention, according to Yan.