This week has no new share subscription arrangements, with only one new listing and three companies scheduled for review, according to a report on IPO activity.
The latest week's issuance and review schedule offers a window into the current IPO pace, and looking at a longer timeline, this trend is not an isolated phenomenon.
A-share IPO activity has continued to cool: in July 2026, 20 companies launched share offerings and 17 went before review panels; by October, only 4 companies faced review and 9 listed.
Notably, the slowdown in A-share IPOs first appeared at the review stage before transmitting to the issuance and listing stages.
IPO pace continues to decelerate
According to Tonghuashun iFinD statistics, from July 1 to November 9, 2026, a total of 44 companies went before A-share review panels (including cancelled reviews, deferred reviews, and cases without same-day results), 41 passed review, 60 completed online or cash subscriptions, and 63 officially listed.
Looking at the four full months from July to October, the three figures were 41, 59, and 61 respectively, with an average of about 15 listings per month.
Compared to monthly averages, the changes in the monthly curve are more meaningful.
In terms of companies going before review panels, July saw 17, August 11, September 9, and October 4, declining for four consecutive months with a cumulative drop of 76.5%, and month-on-month declines of 35.3%, 18.2%, and 55.6% respectively.
Breaking down the review panel numbers by month, the contraction trajectory is very clear.
It is worth noting that October's 4 review panel appearances were the lowest since June 2025.
The companies that went before review panels were Weirong Technology and Jifeng Electronics on the ChiNext board, Baolun Shares on the Shanghai main board, and Xihe Technology on the STAR Market, all of which passed review.
The Beijing Stock Exchange had no companies go before review panels that month, and it was not until November 6 that Tiejin Technology and Xingji Zhizao restored review activity, followed by Longxing Tianxia on November 9.
Changes at the review stage are transmitting to the back end.
Subscription numbers fell from 17 in July, 19 in August, and 16 in September to 7 in October, a month-on-month decline of 56.3%.
In terms of listing numbers, July saw 14, August 17, and September 21, peaking in September before falling back to 9 in October, a month-on-month decline of 57.1%, also the lowest since July.
Some analysts noted that the continued slowdown in A-share IPO activity, with its "high-then-low" curve, reflects the resonance of dual logics from the market and regulators.
Going forward, three signals need to be watched.
First, whether the frequency of Shanghai and Shenzhen listing committee meetings can return from about once a month to weekly; second, the number and pace of CSRC registration approvals, which directly determine the issuance timing of companies that have already passed review; third, whether the Beijing Stock Exchange maintains its recovery in review activity, and whether October's "zero reviews" was incidental or a phase-specific arrangement.
Looking ahead, if review panel numbers return to above 10 in November and December, the judgment of "continued tightening at the review stage" will need to be revised; if they remain in single digits, the full-year review total will be significantly lower than the same period last year.
Structural adjustment driven by dual-end resonance
Changes in the tightness of IPO issuance pace are essentially routine minor adjustments carried out on a market-oriented and law-based track.
This year, the market suddenly shifted from hot to freezing point, and the IPO pace has changed markedly accordingly.
Some analysts noted that the number of acceptances in the first half exceeded 200, related to the relatively favorable issuance window at a time of higher market sentiment and valuation environment.
In the second half, acceptance volumes cooled noticeably, partly because companies facing secondary-market valuation pressure voluntarily slowed their issuance pace, and partly because regulators, under the overall goal of maintaining capital market stability, kept more cautious control over IPO pace.
"The slowdown in IPO pace is the result of resonance between the corporate side and the regulatory side," said securities analyst Li Leilei in an interview. "From the corporate side, it is a rational retreat under valuation pressure. The secondary market has been declining rapidly recently, and new share listing performance has been greatly discounted, which is not worthwhile for issuers. Some companies voluntarily suspend issuance and wait for the valuation window to recover—this is the natural result of market-based bargaining. Especially for large-cap projects, the contradiction between issuance pricing and secondary-market absorption capacity is more prominent, and suspending issuance rather than forcing it through better serves the interests of all parties.
On the regulatory side, it is a prudent consideration of counter-cyclical adjustment. Under the overall goal of stabilizing expectations, regulators have a clear intention to control IPO pace. On one hand, slowing review at the entry point can reduce the 'blood-drawing effect' of new share supply on existing funds, creating conditions for the secondary market to recuperate; on the other hand, under the registration system, 'entry gate' control has become stricter, with quality taking priority over quantity, and the deterrent effect of on-site inspections and supervision continues to exist. October's consecutive zero acceptances on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges and the contraction of review arrangements to 4 companies are direct reflections of this orientation."
The slowdown is not a simple "closing of the gate" but a structural adjustment. Li Leilei believes the Beijing Stock Exchange has become an important supplementary channel, while review standards for the Shanghai and Shenzhen main boards and the dual-innovation boards have effectively tightened. At the same time, concerns about a "dammed lake" of backlogged queuing companies are emerging, and the chain reaction of narrowing venture capital exit channels deserves attention.
The deeper logic is that A-share IPOs are gradually shifting from "quantity expansion" to "quality first." An IPO slowdown is conducive to secondary-market sentiment recovery in the short term, but if it lasts too long, it will affect the direct financing function and the venture capital cycle. The key to pace control lies in "discretionary decision-making," finding a dynamic balance between market absorption capacity and financing demand.
Current signals indicate that regulators prefer to trade time for space, waiting for a substantive recovery in market confidence before gradually restoring normalized issuance.
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