CHINA’S securities regulator said Friday it will restrict excessive fundraising by listed companies and tighten approvals for additional share sales, domestic media reported Saturday.

    Meanwhile, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) encouraged companies to issue convertible bonds and preferred stocks to address structural imbalance in financial activities, according to the reports.

    Last year, domestically listed companies raised more than 1 trillion yuan (US$145.47 billion) via private placement of shares, which is eight times the proceeds from initial public offerings (IPOs), according to a Xinhua report.

    A total of 227 companies completed initial public offerings in China in 2016, eight more than the previous year, while the fundraising amount fell more than 5 percent to 147.6 billion yuan, according to domestic media reports.

    Fundraising from domestic IPOs in 2017 is expected to jump to the highest level in six years, as the government turns to the stock market to help companies reduce debt, analysts have expected.

    At a regular weekly news conference Friday, CSRC spokesman Zhang Xiaojun identified several problems in companies’ re-financing activities, including structural imbalance and random use of proceeds.

    The CSRC said it had already tightened approvals in 2016 and will also take further measures to curb frequent and massive financing by listed firms, adding that the current regulatory system needs re-assessment, according to domestic media reports. (SD-Agencies)