(Yicai) Jan. 3 -- The number of companies going public in the Chinese mainland and the funds they raise may decline further this year, according to UK consulting and auditing giant PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Some 200 to 240 firms are likely list on China’s A-share market in 2024, down 36 percent to 23 percent from last year, a report published by PwC showed yesterday. They are expected to raise between CNY160 billion and CNY190 billion (USD22.6 billion and USD26.8 billion), a decline of 23 percent to 47 percent.

PwC predicted that 30 to 40 companies will go public on the main boards of the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange, garnering CNY35 billion to CNY45 billion (USD4.9 billion to USD6.3 billion). The 80 to 85 that are expected to list on the Beijing Stock Exchange will likely bank CNY20 billion to CNY25 billion.

Between 25 and 35 firms will likely debut on the Star Market, Shanghai’s technology board, raising CNY40 billion to CNY50 billion, while 65 to 80 businesses will probably go public on the ChiNext, Shenzhen’s tech board, raising CNY65 billion to CNY70 billion.

Because of tighter policies, the business performance of many firms applying for the ChiNext failed to meet the requirements, said Cai Zhifeng, a partner in PwC China’s auditing department. Moreover, the number of ChiNext IPOs is expected to be impacted by the increasing number of firms filing to join the BSE, which has lower requirements, Cai added.

The BSE is expected to have the most IPOs this year due to the bourse soon allowing direct listing and other factors such as the limited impact of tighter IPO rules on the BSE, said Ni Jing’an, PwC China’s tech sector managing partner. The BSE will become a new channel for companies to get listed in the Chinese mainland, Ni said.

The capital market will become more inclined to support the listing of tech firms, said Deng Xilin, auditing department partner at PwC China, adding that companies in traditional industries, especially those in food-related sectors, may face a rising listing threshold.

Against the backdrop of the increasing quality of listed companies, IPO applicants will need to have relatively higher profitability and more mature business models, noted Yang Fang, a partner in PwC China’s capital market service division.

Last year, 313 companies listed in the Chinese mainland, down 26 percent from 2021, the PwC report also showed. The amount they raised fell 39 percent to CNY356.4 billion.

Some 103 firms listed on the SSE, raising CNY193.7 billion. Another 133 businesses went public on the SZSE, raising CNY148.1 billion. The the SSE and SZSE ranked first and second worldwide for the amount of funds raised via IPOs.

The BSE welcomed 77 new firms last year, which raised CNY14.6 billion between them.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione