A number of Chinese firms are putting the brakes on domestic listing plans as the country’s largest outbreak of Covid-19 in two years presents a barrier to information gathering and due diligence, upsetting an estimated $9 billion-plus in fundraising, reports Reuters. Over the past week, 15 companies seeking initial public offerings (IPOs) on Shanghai’s tech-focused STAR Market have suspended applications, almost all citing impacts from the epidemic, exchange filings showed. The city entered a staggered lockdown on Monday.
In Shenzhen, which conducted three rounds of mass testing in March, 67 IPO applicants targeting the start-up board ChiNext have suspended the listing process this month, citing the need to update disclosure to regulators, according to filings.
In all, the suspensions potentially delay fundraising worth RMB 60 billion ($9.4 billion), official newspaper Securities Times estimated. That’s equivalent to more than one-tenth of China’s roughly $84 billion in domestic IPO fundraising in 2021.
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