Country Garden scraps Shanghai spin-off amid tighter IPO scrutiny

Shanghai

COUNTRY Garden Holdings Co, a developer whose share price has almost tripled this year, scrapped a planned spin-off of a unit on Shanghai's stock exchange amid China's tightened scrutiny of initial public offerings (IPOs).

The planned listing of Guangdong Country Garden Property Services Co was cancelled because of a recent change in policies by the Chinese authorities, the developer said in a filing to Hong Kong's exchange late on Monday.

China's securities watchdog started to reject more IPO applications after a new review committee came on board in mid-October, according to Caixin magazine.

Country Garden is evaluating options including seeking a listing of property management-related assets on a securities exchange elsewhere, the company said. Known for projects including the US$100 billion Forest City development in southern Malaysia, Country Garden has surged 196 per cent this year and was last month added to the Hang Seng Index.

The scrapping of the proposed spin-off won't have any material impact on Country Garden's financial position, the firm said. BLOOMBERG