China has no timetable to reopen IPO approvals

BEIJING - The government has no plan to start approving IPOs again, sources from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said Thursday.

A CSRC official who declined to be named made the remarks at a news briefing, dismissing speculation that the commission may reopen approvals of initial public offering (IPO) in April.

Many Chinese investors have blamed the CSRC for approving too many IPOs and turning the capital market into a place where companies, some of which have manipulated their financial reports, can amass great wealth overnight.

The CSRC seldom made IPO approvals after June last year. No companies have become listed over the last four months.

But companies are still eager to issue IPOs. Nearly 900 companies were waiting to get IPO approval as of February, according to CSRC figures.

To tackle the problem, the CSRC asked the broker agencies of all IPO applicants last December to inspect applicants' financial status and file reports to the commission before March 31.

The CSRC said it will conduct selective inspections based on the reports.

Many companies have since canceled their IPO applications, according to the CSRC.

Broker agencies who fail to follow the CSRC's orders may face penalties.

The commission said Wednesday that it plans to revoke three agencies' licenses for failing to discover financial manipulation committed by their clients.

In 2010, Yunnan Green-Land Biological Technology Co. was found to have exaggerated its assets and operating revenues when it launched its IPO.