Singapore's stock exchange will step up efforts to woo Chinese mainland firms with listing ambitions and expects up to five more mainland companies to go public in the city state within two months, a senior official said in Beijing last Friday.

The pipeline of China-derived listings would follow share offerings by 25 mainland companies so far this year, said Daniel Ying, a vice president within the exchange's markets group.

"We expect four or five more mainland companies to list in Singapore in the coming one to two months," he told reporters on the sidelines of a forum.

Singapore has been attracting small and mid-sized mainland companies, whereas Hong Kong tends to attract bigger mainland initial public offerings (IPOs), often of State-owned companies.

About 70 out of 107 mainland firms listed in Singapore have a market capitalization of less than US$100 million.

The Singapore exchange was also keen on attracting customers from North Asia, he said.

Ouhua Energy Holdings Ltd, China's third-largest liquefied petroleum gas distributor, became the latest mainland firm to raise funds in Singapore last Friday.

The company's shares surged 60 percent, underscoring strong enthusiasm among investors to buy into China's growth prospects.

Two more mainland companies, China Energy Ltd and cake maker Hsu Fu Chi International Ltd, plan listings in Singapore.

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