On Friday, Chinese authorities rolled out another set of measures aimed at propping up the now bearish market, cutting the number of initial public offerings planned this month by two-thirds. This adds to frantic efforts to shore up plunging stock prices following another 5.7 percent decline in the country’s main market index.
The stock market rose by almost 20 percent in just a couple of months around the beginning of this year – it’s estimated that in May alone, close to 600,000 new stock accounts were opened. But China Securities Regulatory Commission said the number of initial public offerings and the amount of capital raised from the equity markets will be reduced.
Ten IPOs would be launched during the first 10 days of July, down from more than 20 deals launched at the beginning of each month so far this year. Meanwhile, China Securities Finance Corp will boost its capital base to 100 billion yuan from 24 billion yuan. It also plans to raise money from various channels to expand business and stabilize markets. Earlier, China’s securities market regulator launched a probe into suspected market manipulation. The China Financial Futures Exchange has suspended 19 accounts in the past month for short-selling.
Sources: AP, CCTV news