(Yicai) May 13 -- East Money Information has become the seventh Chinese business this year to abandon plans to list global depositary receipts abroad. A year and a half ago, it was the first Chinese securities firm to reveal plans to sell GDRs and list them in Switzerland.

East Money will no longer pursue the listing due to changes in internal and external factors, the Shanghai-based company said after the close of trading on May 10. 

China’s biggest online brokerage has planned to issue new shares, accounting for no more than 5 percent of its total, and the Six Swiss Exchange had conditionally approved the issuance.

East Money’s shares [SHE: 300059] closed down 0.8 percent at CNY13.01 (USD1.80) apiece today, while the broader Shenzhen market lost 0.6 percent.

The Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges announced in March 2022 that listed companies would be allowed to issue GDRs in Switzerland and Germany in addition to London through an expanded stock connect program, sparking a flurry of applications.

But many firms, including Sany Heavy Industry, Sichuan Road and Bridge Group, and Eastroc Beverage have scrapped plans this year to sell GDRs, citing changed market conditions, operations, and funding needs.

Twenty-three mainland-listed firms have succeeded in issuing GDRs in Europe, including 17 in Switzerland. In June 2019, Huatai Securities became the only Chinese brokerage to do so.

Editor: Emmi Laine