Nasdaq to Reportedly Tighten IPO Rules for Chinese Firms, Crypto Potentially Affected

Nasdaq, the world’s second-largest stock exchange, is going to introduce new restrictions on initial public offerings, or IPOs, to prevent smaller Chinese companies from getting listed, a recent Reuters report citing anonymous sources suggests.

Chinese IPO seekers tend to lack accounting transparency and have “close ties to powerful insiders,” Reuters’ sources claim, which is why the new rules will reportedly set out a minimum value on the size of IPOs for the first time on Nasdaq. 

Specifically, the exchange might require companies “from some countries, including China,” to raise at least $25 million in their offering or, alternatively, at least a quarter of their post-listing market capitalization. Chinese companies won’t be officially cited as the reason for the adjusted requirements, the sources clarified.

While a total of 155 Chinese firms have gone public via Nasdaq since 2000, 40 of those grossed IPOs fall short of $25 million, the data cited by Reutuers…