The Shanghai Stock Exchange ("SSE") has recently issued the Guide to Issuance and Listing of Initial Public Offerings on the SSE STAR Market (Applicable to Issuers, Lead Underwriters and Sponsors) (Version 1.0) (the "Guide") and the Circular on Matters Concerning Trading of Stocks and Depository Receipts on the SSE STAR Market. The Guide has entered into force immediately from the date of issuance.
According to the Guide, the overall process of issuance and listing of initial public offerings (IPO) on the SSE STAR Market mainly involves three phases which are pre-IPO preparatory work, issuance business procedures, and listing business procedures. The Guide clarifies how to determine the ticker symbol for a stock listed on the SSE STAR Market, how to determine the stock abbreviation and the offering price, what steps the issuance business procedures comprise, and the whole process for listing of new shares, among other matters. In addition, the Guide requires that a joint-stock company that will launch an IPO and get listed on the SSE STAR Market shall determine the offering price of its shares through price inquiries, pursuant to relevant provisions. Furthermore, the Guide states that, under general conditions, newly-offered shares will be listed within eight trading days after the end of the issuance process; however, such listing may be postponed as the case may be, if any material event arises.