China to Ease Rules on Listings for Nasdaq-Like Board This Year

(Bloomberg) — It will soon be a lot easier for mainland firms to list on the nation’s volatile ChiNext board.

The regulator will unveil rules to adopt so-called registration-based initial public offerings on the ChiNext by the end of June, and implement them this year, according to a statement by the State Council on Thursday. The proposal, announced in April, could cut the review period for listing to months from years, and would scrap limits on price moves for the first five trading days.

China’s securities regulator had been considering making such reforms to the world’s second-largest stock market since at least 2013, when it pledged to move toward a U.S.-style IPO registration system. Last year, the country rolled out a stock board in Shanghai which was seen as a testing ground for relaxed listing and trading rules.

The move comes at a time when increasing numbers of U.S.-listed Chinese firms are seeking to sell shares in Hong Kong amid growing tensions between Beijing and Washington. China’s No. 2 online retailer JD.com Inc. raised HK$30.1 billion ($3.9 billion) in its Hong Kong share sale, people familiar with the matter said, cementing the world’s second-biggest listing this year.

The Shenzhen exchange said in late May that it will start taking new listing applications for ChiNext to within 10 working days after the registration-based system takes effect. The ChiNext, which was the epicenter of a 2015 bubble in mainland shares, entered a bull market this week after gaining more than 20% from its March low.

Contact editor Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com)