THE securities regulator told a recent meeting with investment banks that there has been no change to the pace for reviews of initial public offering (IPO) applications, sources said.

IPO sponsors must review the firms they are sponsoring that are currently in a queue to list, and by the end of the year withdraw listing applications that do not meet standards, the China Securities Regulatory Commissions (CSRC) said, according to the sources.

During the first 10 months of this year, the CSRC approved 359 IPOs, exceeding a record of 347 set in 2010, potentially making China’s IPO market one of the world’s biggest in 2017.

But the pace of approvals has been uneven, with the release of large batches at times hitting the country’s stock markets as investors worried about a flood of new supply. In recent weeks, approvals have slowed. To reduce applicants’ waiting period, the CSRC has shortened the vetting process this year, slashing the average approval time to about 15 months, from more than three years previously.

CSRC officials at the meeting said that capital markets should support the country’s strategic interests and the real economy, and encouraged firms that align with China’s industrial policies to list, including firms in the biomedical industry.

The CSRC will assess every sponsor’s rejected applications and will take unspecified regulatory measures against sponsors that don’t meet standards.

The CSRC published a set of guidelines earlier this month for companies applying to make IPOs, in a bid to be more transparent and stabilize market expectations.

In the guidelines, the CSRC clarified the deadline by which IPO applicants must respond to regulators’ queries, and listed eight situations in which the IPO vetting process would be suspended.

For example, suspension would be triggered if the applicant, its major shareholder, sponsor or underwriting lawyers were under any form of probe for misconduct, or if the IPO application conflicts with other type of securities the applicant is issuing.

China is accelerating IPO approvals as part of efforts to broaden direct finance and help companies reduce debt leverage.

Meanwhile, the CSRC is getting less tolerant of substandard applicants. About 29 percent of IPO applications were rejected during the first 10 months, according to the regulator.

(SD-Agencies)