China's OTC stock market booms amid IPO backlog

Hong Kong

A BOOM on China's over-the-counter (OTC) stock market has seen its ranks of listed companies swell 9 per cent in the past two weeks, amid a backlog of initial public offering (IPO) applications at the country's exchanges.

The National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ) hosts 8,622 corporations, according to its website, up 68 per cent from the end of last year. That compares with 2,914 listed on the bourses in Shanghai and Shenzhen. Companies have this year raised 78.2 billion yuan (S$15.8 billion) from share sales on Beijing- based NEEQ, known as the third board.