China securities regulator in surprise nod for 12 IPOs

Shanghai

CHINA'S securities regulator unexpectedly approved 12 initial public offerings late on Wednesday, a move which could cool a blistering rally in the country's stock markets which has seen the benchmark CSI index surge over 30 per cent in two weeks.

The IPO approvals, reported by state media on Thursday morning, include budget carrier Spring Airlines' 1.76 billion yuan (S$373.6 million) listing. The move signals the potential acceleration of the pace of IPOs in China, which would be good news for investment bankers, underwriters and the hundreds of companies queued to list. But it may be negative for stock indices as analysts suspect the timing of the announcement is aimed at cooling the mainland's red-hot market.