Consumer credit firm allowed to go public

Mashang Consumer Finance Co Ltd was approved on Friday to go public in the A-share market and become the first listed licensed consumer credit company.

The Chongqing Bureau of China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission announced the approval of the firm’s initial public offering and listing on its website, allowing its issuance scale not exceeding 1.33 billion shares.

All the funds raised after deducting issuance expenses should be used to supplement the core Tier 1 capital of the company, the authority said.

Last month, the Chongqing-based consumer finance firm was given the green light to issue financial bonds not exceeding 2 billion yuan (US$286.9 million) in the national inter-bank bond market.