(Yicai) Dec. 19 -- The number of companies going public in the Chinese mainland and the funds they raise may shrink by more than half this year, according to a report by the Chinese arm of UK accounting giant Deloitte.

101 firms are likely to list on China's A-share market this year, down 68 percent from last year, the Deloitte China report showed. The funds they raise are expected to decline 81 percent to about CNY68 billion (USD9.5 billion), with no initial public offerings above CNY5 billion (USD685.1 million).

Chinese mainland bourses hosted 95 IPOs raising CNY61.4 billion so far this year as of yesterday, compared with 313 and CNY356.5 billion (USD48.8 billion) a year earlier, according to financial data provider from Wind Information.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission introduced in August last year new measures to slow down IPO approvals to balance investment and financing. In April, the watchdog tightened listing requirements.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange will remain sixth and eighth by IPO proceedings this year, with the former making the top five for the fifth consecutive year. The Indian bourse will rank first for the first time, followed by the Nasdaq, the New York Stock Exchange, and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

"The IPO approval process may be slightly relaxed in the first quarter of next year,” Zhao Haizhou, managing partner of A-share listing services for eastern China at Deloitte, told Yicai. "However, the long-term focus on quality listings and tech firms will remain unchanged."

Deloitte expects the number of companies going public and the funds they raise to moderately increase next year as regulators maintain their focus on quality issuers, technology innovation, and industry consolidation through mergers and acquisitions.

Editor: Futura Costaglione