A-share IPOs might speed up this year and China will continue to be the most active IPO market in the world, analysts noted during a press conference held by consultancy firm PwC on Tuesday.
"We hold a cautious but optimistic attitude toward the A-share market's performance in general this year," Shen Jie, partner of capital markets and accounting advisory services at PwC, told the Global Times Tuesday.
China's IPO market was steady in 2016 compared with the previous year with mild improvements. In 2016, the number of newly listed companies reached 227 on the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses, slightly up from 219 in 2015, according to a report sent by PwC to the Global Times on Tuesday.
According to the report, funds amounting to about 150 billion yuan ($21.6 billion) were raised in new listings on the two bourses in 2016.
Companies from the industrial products, retail, consumer goods and services sectors comprised the majority of those being listed on the main board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen SME board in 2016, according to data from the PwC report.
Frank Lyn, markets leader of PwC China, said that the second half of 2016 saw stable market operations and accelerated IPO approvals, which were expected to "keep up" this year.
He also predicted that there will be around 350 newly listed companies in 2017, and deal values will reach about 250 billion yuan in total.
The Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3,135.92 points on Tuesday, compared with 3,296.26 points on January 4, 2016, the first trading day in 2016. The Shenzhen Component Index ended at 10,262.85 points on Tuesday, compared with 11,626.04 points at the beginning of 2016.
Shen said it's very hard to predict how the indexes might turn this year.
PwC also said that the launch of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect will attract more international investors to the A-share market, which is a stimulus to the latter.
