A record number of companies have dropped plans to list on Shanghai’s tech-focused stock market, with regulators raising the bar for initial public offerings in order to pick out domestic champions that can help Beijing’s drive towards technological self-sufficiency.
Public records show 126 companies have cancelled or suspended IPO applications on Shanghai’s Star Market so far in 2023, more than in the previous four years combined.
The city’s stock exchange, acting on guidance from regulators led by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), has set higher standards for listing applications this year, according to bankers and filings, in what amounts to a radical reversal in China’s approach to encouraging innovation.
Read more about Shanghai’s Star market here.