(Yicai Global) Jan. 17 -- The China Securities Regulatory Commission said it has approved Jiangsu Financial Leasing Co.'s initial public offering application, and the firm will become the first financial leasing company to be listed on the A-share market.

The Nanjing-based firm's registered capital is CNY16.8 billion (USD2.6 billion), and its controlling shareholder is Jiangsu Communications Holding Co., an affiliate of the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Jiangsu Province, with a stake of 49.7 percent, per the IPO prospectus.

The number of leasing companies in China increased from 93 in 2007 to 7,120 in late 2016, of which 59 were finance leasing firms, 204 were Chinese companies and 6,857 were foreign ones.

Competition and changes in regulatory policies pose challenges for such groups. National financial conference attendees decided that the Ministry of Commerce would transfer the authority of regulation over finance leasing firms to the China Banking Regulatory Commission. China will more strictly regulate the finance lease market in the future.

Jiangsu Financial Leasing specializes in water conservancy, environmental facilities and healthcare businesses. Its operating income was CNY1.8 billion in 2016, with a net profit of CNY824 million. Overdue lease receivables at the company have continued to increase in recent years. The non-performing leasing assets ratio was 0.62 percent, 0.86 percent, and 0.96 percent at the end of 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively. It was 0.92 percent in September 2017.