CHINA’S securities regulator Saturday released draft prospectuses for a small group of companies planning to list, in a move that may soothe investor concerns that the country had put in place a de facto freeze on initial public offerings (IPOs).

    The 28 prospectuses, published on the website of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), included Well Lead Medical, a medical equipment firm in the southern city of Guangzhou, and Hangzhou Weiguang Electronic Co., which makes motors for electric fans.

    But it is unclear whether, or when, the companies will be approved to list.

    Sixteen of the companies on the list are applying for the main board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, eight for the ChiNext board and four for Shenzhen’s small and medium-sized enterprises board.

    “The fact that more than half the 28 firms are to be listed in Shanghai shows that the authorities are supporting the Shanghai bourse as the latter has suffered from a notable decline in trading volume lately,” said Guan Qingyou, vice president of Minsheng Securities’ research institute.

    The Shanghai exchange, which hosts most of China’s biggest but less profitable State-owned enterprises, has been losing its appeal in the last two years to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, its smaller rival, as investors warmed to more-efficient small, private companies or ambitious startups listed in Shenzhen.

    The CSRC told investors earlier that China had not closed its window for IPO applications.

    No new companies have listed for nearly two months, leading domestic media to speculate that an informal freeze is in place.

    China allowed initial public offerings to resume in early 2014 after a hiatus of 14 months, allowing around 50 already approved companies to list on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges.

    More than 600 firms are still in the queue. (SD-Agencies)