No Plan for Shanghai Stock Exchange Listing

An official at the Shanghai Stock Exchange said Wednesday the listing of the bourse was not an urgent matter while acknowledging the need for such a listing.

"People are talking about the listing and it shows there is a demand," Xie Wei, deputy general manager of the bourse told Caixin, who went on to say that this was not an urgent issue.

The listing of the SSE was brought up last year when foreign bourses came to China to woo Chinese companies. The exchange, launched in 1990, is a non-profit organization. Under Chinese securities law, the assets of the bourse belong to all members. The bourse is eyeing a listing primarily to boost its brand publicity and international standing.

As for the international board on the exchange, Xie said that the decision was up to the securities regulator or even higher-level decision makers. Many analysts believe that it is the State Council, the cabinet, which will have the final say in the launch of the board.

"Once the introduction of the board is approved, it will only take three months to finish all the preparations for the launch," he said. He was not encouraging about the unveiling of the board in the near future.     　

He also said the China Securities Regulatory Commission, rather than the bourse, will decide the first batch of companies for the international board. The official said that energy companies ought to be targeted first by the board, in order to increase China's pricing power in natural resource purchases and innovation-driven high-tech companies come second.

Giving a cold shoulder to the idea of listing foreign banks, Xie said, "Foreign commercial banks, investment banks and exchanges should wait five to ten years before they are listed."

"We should not pump money into those banks to increase their edge against Chinese counterparts," Xie added.  

So far, over ten foreign companies have expressed their desire to go public on the international board. HSBC, East Asia Bank, the New York Stock Exchange, Siemens and Brazilian Vale are among the aspirants. 

(Translated by SHX)

Full article in Chinese: http://finance.caing.com/2010-01-28/100111689.html