THE securities regulator in China halted 42 firms’ initial public offerings (IPOs) on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges after starting a probe into an investment bank, a law firm and other parties involved in the deals. The news of the shelved IPOs was reported yesterday by Shanghai Securities News, which cited disclosures by the exchanges and company filings. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) started a probe into China Dragon Securities Co., Beijing-based law firm Tian Yuan, Carea Assets Appraisal Co. and Zhongxingcai Guanghua Certified Public Accountants LLP, according to Shanghai Securities News. The suspensions come amid a broader crackdown on the private sector in China, which has roiled capital markets. Regulators have also tightened controls over IPOs this year as firms flocked to raise capital amid a fast economic recovery and an earlier streamlining of regulations. After a mid-year work meeting, the regulator said Friday that it will “strictly control the entrance to the capital market” and it has “zero tolerance” for market misconduct. Among those halted was the share sale of BYD Co.’s chip unit, according to an Aug. 18 update on the Shenzhen bourse’s website. The board of Shenzhen-based electric-vehicle maker BYD approved the spin-off of BYD Semiconductor Co. in May. BYD Semiconductor, China’s biggest maker of automotive microcontroller chips, filed an application in May to list on Shenzhen’s ChiNext, a Nasdaq-style market supervised by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The company aimed to raise at least 2.68 billion yuan (US$412 million) for automotive chip development, according to its prospectus. The stock exchange accepted the IPO application for review in June. That plan has been put on hold, however, due to a regulatory probe by the CSRC into Beijing-based Tian Yuan Law Firm, one of China’s biggest legal service providers. The law firm, which has helped companies like Bilibili and Nongfu Spring with their own listing plans, was advising BYD on its chip unit’s market debut. About 10 other listing plans being advised by Tian Yuan have also been suspended, though neither the Shenzhen Stock Exchange nor the CSRC gave a reason for the investigation. (SD-Agencies) | 