Beijing suspends new share offerings

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has not been reviewing applications for initial public offerings since mid-September, a sign that the government is attempting to boost the stock market by curbing equity supply, the South China Morning Post reported. Though there has been no formal announcement of the suspension, sources told the paper that the CSRC’s initial public offerings review committee had stopped processing applications on September 16, and that the suspension would continue until the end of October, if not longer. The Shanghai Composite Index has plunged 60.57% so far this year and is 65.95% off its historic high reached in the middle of October last year.