(Yicai Global) Sept. 30 -- There were a record number of initial public offerings on China’s mainland stock exchanges last month, boosted by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange's IPO reform, but the gains were countered by many recently listed growth stocks falling below their offer prices, challenging the markets' ability to bear these losses.

Sixty-three companies went public on China's bourses in August, an all-time high, according to statistics platform Choice. This is compared to an average of 10.8 firms in the first six months of last year.

The accelerated pace is linked to the introduction of a new registration-based IPO system on Shenzhen's Nasdaq-style ChiNext Board on Aug. 24, a much quicker process than the previous approval-based model that could take months, even years. Eighteen companies floated on ChiNext that day and the rate of listings subsequently soared.

However, these cash injections have been accompanied by a falling trend among sub-new stocks, which are firms that have been listed for less than one year and generally refers to growth tech stocks or high-tech firms that are projected to grow at a rate higher than the market average.

The market's loss bearing capacity will face pressure if companies with good performance mingle with poorly-performing ones, a senior analyst said.

Creative firm FengShang Culture [SHE:300860] was the first sub-new stock to trade below its issuing share price since the ChiNext reform. On Sept. 9 it closed at CNY133.40 (USD19.60), below its offer price of CNY138.

Diamond wire maker Yangling Metron New Materials [SHE:300861], digital creative solution provider Space [SHA:605178] and chemical producer Xinyaqiang Silicon Chemistry [SHA:603155] were also trading below their issuing prices from Sept. 10. Cathay Industrial Biotech [SHA:688065] and Xi'an Ruilian New Material [SHA:688550] fell to less than their offer price just four days after listing.

Postal Savings Bank of China [SHA:601658] hit an historic low of CNY4.50 (USD0.66) on Sept. 28, nearly 20 percent below its issuing price of CNY5.50 (USD0.80).

The registration-based IPO system has stricter delisting criteria due to the looser review process, and based on observation of the US stock markets. Over 1,000 companies were removed from the US stock markets between 2012 and 2017, 10 times more than in China.

Editors: Xu Wei, Kim Taylor