Rise in IPOs sustains A-share market

A growing number of new listings and funds helped the yuan-denominated A-share IPO market maintain momentum in the first three quarters of this year, according to a KPMG report.

There were 346 new initial public offerings in the A-share market in the first nine months, up from 126 in the same period of 2016. 

The IPOs netted 172.9 billion yuan (US$26 billion), exceeding the amount in the full year of 2016.

However, the average deal value tumbled 18 percent to 500 million yuan from 610 million yuan in the first three quarters of 2016, with no single IPO raising more than 5 billion yuan.

With an average of eight to 10 new listings every week, about 440 IPOs are expected to raise a total of 230 billion yuan on the Chinese mainland this year, the report said.

Companies in the industrial, technology, media and telecom sectors dominated the A-share IPO market in the first three quarters, contributing to more than half of the total number of IPOs and funds raised.

The report also said private education companies can become a new source of IPOs in the long term after legal barriers have been lifted.