It’s getting tougher for Chinese companies to enter the country’s stock markets as state scrutiny rises.
The listing ceremony of Shenzhen Longtech Smart Control Co., Ltd and Shanghai Hi-Road Food Technology Co., Ltd at the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, December 2, 2020 in Shenzhen, China. Credit: VCG via Getty Images
This was supposed to be a breakout year for China’s stock markets. Buoyed by the post-Covid reopening and newly announced reforms to the way companies list, investors and bankers hoped the country would be a driver of growth while the rest of the world slowed.
Instead, dozens of Chinese companies have canceled their plans for an initial public offering at home — just months after China’s securities regulator had announced major changes supposedly designed to "give the right of choice to the market." Earlier this month, Syngenta Group — the agricultural giant whose $9 billion IPO was slated to be China’s biggest this year — announced it would delay its listing until 2024, citing weak market conditions.
Yi Huiman, currently serving as Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Credit: 上海金融
Regulators’ tough scrutiny of companies planning an IPO signals a shift towards extending state control over the private sector, in line with Xi Jinping’s
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