(Yicai) Jan. 30 -- A wave of mergers and acquisitions is possible in China’s capital markets amid low stock prices and a sluggish pace of new listings, according to insiders, with the plans of Star Market-listed Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics among the first of many.

Mindray announced before the market opened this week that the medical devices maker will pay CNY6.65 billion (USD927 million) for control of APT Medical, which is also listed on Shanghai’s Nasdaq-like bourse. That represents a 30 percent premium on APT's share price on Jan. 26.

Other Star Market-listed companies such as Rigol Technologies, a producer of electronic measuring instruments, Asiainfo Security Technologies, which develops security software, and 3Peak, a semiconductor company, have also set out M&A plans in the new year.

The market environment supports M&As among listed firms, particularly those in the emerging sectors of biomedicine, semiconductors, new energy vehicles, and new-generation information technology, Liu Shengyu, managing partner at Gaorui Gaohe Investment Management, told Yicai.

Compared with previous M&A waves in China’s capital markets, this time they will target mature companies in the same industry, and often involve upstream and downstream players, Liu said, adding that the consolidations are expected to boost firms' fundamentals and competitive edge.

M&As are becoming a key way for startups to seek new opportunities and early-stage investors to exit as fewer companies are being approved to go public, while low stock prices make target companies more affordable, Liu said, adding that market reforms also mean buyers have more means of payment this time around.

Through M&As, firms can quicken the pace of industry transformation and upgrading, increase their products' added value and market competitiveness, as well as improve growth and profitability, according to Tian Lihui, dean of the Institute of Finance and Development at Tianjin's Nankai University.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine