Scott Murdoch and Samuel Shen

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG – Six Chinese firms have filed documents to New York listing in the past weeks. This comes after a unprecedented crackdown by Chinese regulators last year.

Bankers stated that the plan is for small initial public offerings (IPOs), ranging in size from $1 million up to $35 million. They are not likely to result in a slew large debuts anytime soon as banks wait to see more details about new offshore listing rules.

Chinese companies raised $12.8 billion US in the United States during the first seven months last year. However, the deals were halted when Didi Global’s New York debut in June caused a backlash from Beijing.

All offshore listings were subject to greater scrutiny.

Some Chinese firms are trying to sell US shares again, despite being unsure if they will be affected by the new regulations that seek to ban offshore listings of companies with large data sets or national security threats.

Zhang Jiulin of Hengguang Holding Co, an insurance broker said that both the U.S. as well Chinese regulators believe legitimate, law-abiding firms like ours can become bigger and more powerful through listing.

The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) received a draft prospectus for an IPO from his company on January 18. It aimed to raise as much as $19.6 Million via the Nasdaq listing.

Zhang dismissed concerns about China’s tightening control over cross-border data transfers, saying that Hengguang didn’t collect any sensitive customer data.

Cyberspace Administration of China has issued new rules ()This change will take effect Tuesday and require a security review for all platforms companies that have data on over 1,000,000 users.

China Securities Regulatory Commission has proposed a filing system in order to increase scrutiny for offshore listings.

This new rule was made against the background of China’s recent regulatory crackdowns in key sectors like e-commerce, tutoring and other areas that have smashed shares in Chinese offshore-listed companies.

The filings were too insignificant to have any relevance. “I don’t think there will be any real easement any time soon,” stated a Hong Kong equity capital markets broker. This was due to uncertainty around the rules and security review for those firms that have data on over 1,000,000 users.

REGULATORY GESTURE

Company executives stated that U-BX Technology, a Chinese software company, and Ostin Technology Group were among the many Chinese applicants who received positive messages from U.S. and Chinese regulators regarding such deals.

Zhang Hengguang said that he had seen positive actions from the CSRC.

China and the United States have made progress in coordinating regulation governing Chinese companies that are listed in New York City, CSRC Vice President Fang Xinghai stated to foreign financial institutions during a meeting last month.

Others are also sanguine.

Ling Tao is the chairman of Ostin. Ostin hopes to list on Nasdaq in March and raise $15 million.

SEC filings revealed that more than a dozen Chinese companies also modified IPO papers in this year’s IPO applications.

Ming Liao is the founder partner of Prospect Avenue Capital, a private equity company. “Market participants see the light at end of the tunnel,” he said.

He said that China still needs strong market-friendly policies in order to fully revive U.S. listing.