CHINA’S stock regulator said Friday that there would not be a rush of initial public offerings (IPOs) at the year-end, although the number of deals so far falls short of its target.

    The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said in June that it would let about 100 companies launch IPOs by the end of this year, but only 66 firms have so far floated shares, raising the question whether it would push firms to quicken the pace to meet the target.

    “Our commission will keep the pace of new share issues similar to the previous few months, and will not arrange more than 30 firms to concentrate their IPOs at the end of this year,” the CSRC’s official Weibo quoted its spokesman as saying.

    The remarks are likely to be taken as another signal that authorities are keen to support the stock market, which has rebounded more than 10 percent this year.

    China ended a year-long moratorium on IPOs in December and relaxed the rules governing the way companies are approved for public trading on stock exchanges. (SD-Agencies)