(Yicai Global) March 9 -- There are about 25 to 30 Chinese companies preparing for an initial public offering of shares on the New York Stock Exchange within the next two years, said NYSE's head of international capital markets, Alexandre Ibrahim. The statement comes despite various reports recently suggested some major tech companies plan to return to China's stock market.

When asked about his views on the reports that many companies including JD.Com Inc. are ready to return to China to list, Ibrahim said during a press conference that everything is at exploratory stage and there are no clear rules yet. There are as many as 25 to 30 Chinese companies in the pipeline to list on the NYSE in the next two years, he responded. These companies operate in the fields of science and technology, education, and consumption as well as other industries, he added.

Ibrahim's statements are likely to trigger more discussion about China Concepts Stocks listed on several major stock exchanges around the world.

He said that the market environment is constantly changing and there is no guarantee for the number of these companies to eventually IPO on the NYSE, when asked if the preparations for the listing would be affected by the recent backflow listing of technology companies. However, he made a reference to what he called NYSE's unique attraction.

China is the largest source of listed companies on the New York Stock Exchange, apart from the U.S. ones. Some 86 Chinese companies have raised over USD1 trillion on the NYSE, with Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. taking the top stop with nearly USD22 billion. Ibrahim admitted that the biggest growth point for listing of overseas companies is still in China, followed by Latin America and Canada.

NYSE's senior official Ibrahim's statements come at a time when China's financial authorities try to encourage Chinese firms to list on the A-share market. Hong Kong Special Administrative Region also unveiled plans for the most significant reform of listing rules in the city in 30 years, which provide added incentive for tech and new economy companies to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.