IPO list sees candidates withdrawing

A total of 123 enterprises who planned to launch IPOs in the mainland have withdrawn their applications as of Sunday, after the country's securities regulator required the companies to conduct self-inspections to ensure the accuracy of the financial information they disclosed before a public float.

Of the 123 enterprises, 104 were planning to get listed on the Growth Enterprise Board, a NASDAQ-style secondary board, according to data released by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).

Analysts said those enterprises withdrew their IPO applications mainly because they thought they could not pass the regulator's intensified scrutiny of IPO candidates.

The CSRC released a statement last December requiring companies in the mainland IPO pipeline, as well as their listing sponsors and accounting partners, to conduct self-inspections to ensure that the information they disclosed was "authentic, objective and accurate."

The regulator stipulated that the self-inspection reports must be submitted by Sunday.

Starting in April, the CSRC will start reviews of the enterprises that submitted their self-inspections before the deadline.

The CSRC's new self-inspection rule could eliminate malpractice during the IPO process and improve the IPO environment in the country, analysts said.

IPO applicants and their accounting partners sometimes manipulate their profit data or fake their balance sheets in order to get listed, but these companies usually see a sharp decline in profits following their listing.

A total of 841 companies were in line to launch IPOs, according to statistics released on March 24 by Wind, a financial information provider.