Nasdaq-style tech board in Shanghai to take listing applications

The Shanghai Stock Exchange will start accepting listing applications for its new Science and Technology Innovation board on Monday, putting it on track for a first batch of listings as early as mid-June, the official Shanghai Securities News reported on Saturday.

Yantai Raytron Technology Co, a Chinese developer of imaging and sensor technology, has already completed prelisting tutoring from Citic Securities, while several other technology companies, including Venus Medtech (Hangzhou) Inc and Xinguang Photoelectric Technology Co, are receiving tutoring from underwriters, according to regulatory filings.

The exchange’s review process would take about three months, which means the first batch of applicants could debut on the technology board as early as mid-June, the newspaper said.

Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style Science and Technology board, announced by President Xi Jinping in November, marks a radical shift from the current lengthy and cumbersome process for initial public offerings. The board’s registration-based listing procedure will reduce regulatory red tape and allow start-ups that have yet to turn a profit to list.

Seen as part of Beijing’s efforts to counter U.S. curbs on China’s technology investments, the new board has drawn huge interest from both investors and the country’s technology start-ups. HSBC said this month the move could prove to be the boldest reform undertaken so far in China’s capital markets.