(Yicai Global) March 17 -- China’s securities watchdog has approved the first batch of 10 applications for registration-based initial public offerings on the main boards of Chinese mainland stock exchanges.

The 10 companies given the green light aim to raise a combined CNY17.4 billion (USD2.5 billion) from their share sales, the China Securities Regulatory Commission said yesterday on its website.

China brought in registration-based IPOs across all mainland stock exchanges on Feb. 20. Under the new system, the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges are responsible for reviewing IPO requests. If approved by them, the bourses then submit relevant documents to the CSRC, which has a 20-working-day review window.

The bourses handed the IPO filing documents of the 10 companies to the CSRC on March 14, meaning it took just two days for the regulator to approve them.

Industry insiders expect the 10 firms to list around the end of next month, Securities Daily reported today.

When reviewing the applications, the listing committees of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges mainly looked at their sector positionings, main business, fundraising and investment projects, sustained profitability, and corporate internal controls, Securities Daily said.

Editor: Futura Costaglione