(Yicai) Sept. 23 -- China's securities regulator is boosting efforts to fast-track the listing of innovative firms that are yet to turn a profit on Shanghai's Nasdaq-style Star Market after relaxing some rules in June, with three more companies securing initial public offering approvals.

Wuhan Healthgen Biotechnology, a plant-derived recombinant protein pharmaceuticals producer, was the first applicant under the Star Market's revived fifth listing standard unveiled in June, Wu Qing, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said at a press briefing yesterday. Its IPO application was approved on July 1.

In addition, Guangzhou-based BeBetter Med, a new drug application-stage research and development company with seven drugs in the clinical-stage, got an IPO nod on Aug. 7, while Xi'an-based semiconductor products maker ESWIN Material Technology followed suit on Aug. 29, Wu noted.

China's capital market reforms, such as reviving the Star Market's fifth listing standard that allows unprofitable companies to go public, aim to more precisely support science and technology firms with major technological breakthroughs, sustained R&D investment, and strong business prospects, Wu said on June 18.

Several other unprofitable innovative firms, including Shenzhen-based Insight Lifetech and Zhuhai-based Trinomab Pharmaceutical, have made headway in the post-reform IPO queue.

The Star Market is also reviewing applications from other unprofitable companies outside the fifth standard, including chip producers MetaX Integrated Circuit Shanghai, Zhaoxin Semiconductor, and Beijing-based Moore Threads Intelligent Technology.

The fifth listing standard is a special pathway that imposes no requirements on an applicant's profits or revenue. However, it does require that the company's core business or products have received approval from relevant central government authorities and demonstrate significant market potential and milestone progress.

Since the tech-focused Star Market of the Shanghai Stock Exchange launched in July 2019, around 20 companies have gone public using the fifth standard. However, the pathway has been inactive for nearly two years, with the most recent listing before the new reforms being Chongqing-based Genrix Biopharmaceutical in June 2023.

Shenzhen's ChiNext board echoes the move, accepting its first unprofitable applicant Dapu Microelectronics, better known as DapuStor, under its parallel rules on June 27. The firm moved to the inquiry stage on July 6.

Editor: Martin Kadiev