Probe into bribes for IPOs

An investigation of officials in Jiangsu province alleged to have taken bribes in return for permission to make initial public offerings, has led to a number of top provincial officials receiving jail sentences of up to 11 years, the Financial Times said.
The incidents occurred in the late 1990s when approvals for IPOs were controlled by provincial governments, with each having a quota allocated by Beijing. This system has since been abolished. The investigation also found that about half of the province’s listed companies had bribed officials to approve their listing by methods such as appointing them as consultants or ‘strategic managers’.