Regulator approves new IPOs for seven firms

    CHINA’S securities regulator has approved the initial public offering (IPO) applications by seven companies, the latest group of firms obtaining the go-ahead to sell new shares in the domestic stock market.

    The total capital raised by the seven companies is expected to be no more than 2.6 billion yuan (US$400 million), according to a statement issued Friday by the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Among the seven companies, four will be listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, one on the small and medium enterprise board of the Shenzhen exchange and the rest on the NASDAQ-style ChiNext. Last year, 220 companies raised 157.8 billion yuan through IPOs, more than double the amount raised in 2014.

    Trade in China Railway Materials’ debt may resume

    CHINA’S interbank market operator said yesterday that trade in suspended debt instruments of China Railway Materials Co. can resume with conditions, in a bid to protect investors’ rights.

    State-owned China Railway Materials earlier this month suspended trade in 16.8 billion yuan (US$2.60 billion) worth of its debt instruments, as the company was struggling to make payments. Before trade is normalized, transactions can take place as long as the two parties acknowledge in written letters that they are aware of the risks involved and promise to assume potential losses, the interbank market operation said in a statement on its website.

    Dalian Wanda Commercial halts share trading

    TRADING in shares of Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co., China’s largest commercial developer, was suspended in Hong Kong yesterday.

    The shares were halted at the company’s request ahead of an announcement, the developer said, without providing details. Dalian Wanda Commercial is due to announce details of a privatization plan, according to a company official, who declined to be identified ahead of a statement.

    BOC Aviation to gauge demand for HK IPO

    BOC Aviation Ltd., Asia’s biggest aircraft-leasing company by asset value, began gauging demand yesterday for a Hong Kong initial public offering that could raise as much as US$1.5 billion, sources with knowledge of the matter said.

    The Singapore-based company, owned by Bank of China Ltd., expects to start taking investor orders in mid-May.