US$11b sales in the offing as China ends IPO freeze

[HONG KONG] China's decision to end a 15-month freeze on initial public offerings may unleash at least US$11 billion of share sales in the first half of next year.

More than 760 mainland Chinese companies are waiting to go public. Their plans were halted when regulators imposed the moratorium in September 2012 as they drafted rules aimed at curbing price manipulation.

State-owned companies are expected to be among the first to list. Shaanxi Coal Industry Co plans to seek as much as US$2 billion, two people with knowledge of the matter said, while China Postal Express & Logistics Co, the nation's biggest package shipper, may raise US$1.5 billion. The IPOs underscore companies' pent-up need for cash even as Chinese stock valuations are near a decade-low.