China's Xinhuanet gets approval for going public in Shanghai

Staff members of Xinhuanet.com prepares for a live broadcast at the 14th China Cross-Straits Technology and Projects Fair in Fuzhou, Southwest China's Fujian province, June 18, 2016. [Photo/VCG]

BEIJING - Xinhuanet.com, the website of China's official news wire Xinhua News Agency, has got the green light for an IPO on the Shanghai bourse.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) announced the approval Friday night after years of consideration, without elaborating.

According to the company's prospectus, Xinhuanet.com plans to raise nearly 1.5 billion yuan ($230 million) to fund its multi-media business, cloud service and mobile Internet services.

In 2014, the company earned 634 million yuan in business revenue and 188 million yuan in net profit. Its major source of revenue came from advertising, which contributed 348 million yuan in 2014.

Xinhua News Agency holds more than 80 percent of the shares.

The move is part of the government's push to commercialize the state-controlled news websites to make them more competitive in a fast-changing industry.

People.cn, website of the People's Daily - the flagship newspaper of the Communist Party of China, went public in early 2012.

Xinhuanet.com applied for an IPO in early 2013, but the procedure was suspended as the CSRC halted approval of new stock listings. Another application was submitted in mid-2014 after the approval process resumed.