Shanghai's STAR Market shines brightly

Shanghai's STAR Market is gradually becoming the first choice for Chinese tech firms' initial public offerings, thanks to its friendly listing requirements and efficient review process, experts said on Tuesday.

The STAR Market, the first A-share submarket that piloted the registration-based initial public offering system, saw 113 IPOs, with $27.5 billion total amount raised in the first three quarters of the year, both highest among all major stock markets across the world, according to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

"Given companies' choices at present, the consensus that the STAR Market is the first choice of Chinese tech IPOs is forming," said Peng Yigang, deputy director of the SSE's Offering & Listing Center.

As of Monday, up to 191 companies have got listed on the tech board since it debuted last July, with the total market value of tech board amounting to 2.96 trillion yuan ($443 billion), Peng said.

IPO requirements friendly to tech firms, as well as a transparent and efficient review process with information disclosure at the core, are attracting increasingly more tech firms to the market, Peng said.

Lou Jing, chairman of Sunshine Guojian Pharmaceutical (Shanghai) Co Ltd, said the STAR Market's friendly listing requirements have enabled the company's IPO on the board in July, which is a "necessary" move for the Shanghai-based biopharmaceutical firm focusing on innovative drug development.

Getting listed on the STAR Market has helped the company increase investment in research and development, expand production, and lift its brand image among clients, Lou said.