CHINA’S securities regulator said Friday it plans to unveil details of its new initial public offering (IPO) system before the end of the year.

    The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said in December it planned to dump its approval-based IPO system where it decides which firms would get to list and when, moving to a registration-based program similar to the United States and other developed markets.

    Zhang Xiaojun, the regulator’s spokesman, told a media conference that detailed plans for the registration-based system, which allows for market forces to determine reception and pricing of IPOs, would be revealed by the end of the year. He did not elaborate.

    The CSRC has so far maintained tight control over supply and pricing. Earlier this year, it instructed firms that set their IPO price-to-earnings ratio higher than that of industrial peers in the secondary market to publish risk warnings before selling shares to retail investors.

    Shares of three small companies soared by more than 40 percent in their debuts Thursday in the first mainland listings in more than four months, underlining the difficulties the CSRC faces in transforming the IPO system to a more market-driven one while curbing speculation.

    (SD-Agencies)