China regulator approves listing of Foxconn Industrial Internet

BEIJING - China's securities regulator Thursday gave the green light for the stock market listing of Foxconn Industrial Internet, a subsidiary of the Taiwanese manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd.

The approval came a month after the company filed its prospectus with the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) for its Shanghai listing review, a speedy process, which normally takes more than a year.

Foxconn Industrial Internet plans to use the proceeds of the flotation to fund eight new projects, including 5G, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, according to the the prospectus.

The total investment for the eight projects will reach 27.3 billion yuan ($4.3 billion).

The prospectus gave no details on share pricing and the number of shares to be listed.

In 2017, Foxconn Industrial Internet posted revenue and net profit of 354 billion yuan and 15.9 billion yuan, respectively, rising from 273 billion yuan and 14.4 billion yuan in 2016.

China's security regulator has been taking steps to reform the stock exchange listing mechanism in an effort to invigorate the country's capital market and foster the new economy.

The CSRC will reform the listing mechanism, deepen reform of the main board and ChiNext board, and give more support to "new technology, new industry, new industry forms and new business models," Wednesday's Securities Daily cited CSRC Vice Chairman Jiang Yang as saying.