THE head of China’s securities regulator met with market participants Saturday to seek feedback on topics including initial public offerings (IPOs), sources said, amid a spike in listings that has weighed on share prices.

    Liu Shiyu, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), held talks with institutions in Beijing, discussing IPOs as well as refinancing, shell company assets and the over-the-counter New Third Board.

    Stocks in Shanghai slid to a three-month low yesterday, with some analysts pointing to a spate of new IPOs weighing on valuations in the market.

    The CSRC approved 131 new IPOs in the last quarter of 2016, up sharply from the 28 it approved in the last three months of 2015, according to calculations from data released on the regulator’s official microblog platform.

    It was not clear what feedback the institutions gave to the CSRC or what the regulator’s response was.

    The issue has become a hot topic recently in domestic media because faster approvals for IPOs increases the supply of equity in the market, putting downward pressure on stock prices.

    China’s main share indexes fell more than 11 percent in 2016 but some analysts are predicting modest gains this year as the economy recovers and as investors switch into shares as a hedge against rising inflation and tighter monetary policy.

    (SD-Agencies)