SHANGHAI, Jan 12 Reuters A growing number of listing applicants on the Beijing Stock Exchange are slashing the floor prices of their planned initial public offerings IPOs, as the pandemichit companies seek to lure investors in a sluggish corner of China39;s reviving stock markets.

The move by nearly a score of IPO hopefuls including green tech firm Polygree and wireless solution provider Lierda to lower their minimum offer prices over the past month is being hailed by some investors who expect more marketoriented pricesetting on the Beijing bourse.

Unlike the Shanghai and the Shenzhen stock exchanges, the Beijing Stock Exchange set up about a year ago to fund small companies require that IPO candidates set a floor price for their share sales to protect the interest of existing shareholders.

Despite a recent share price rally in China on the back of postpandemic recovery hopes, trading on the Beijing Stock Exchange remains depressed, forcing companies to be practical in their IPO fundraising plans.

Polygree has slashed its minimum IPO offer price to its book value of 5.79 yuan a share, 64 lower than the floor set in June, according to its latest prospectus this week. The company said its net profit nearly halved during the first six months of 2022 due to the COVID pandemic.

Lierda, also slashed its IPO price floor close to its book value of 1.72 yuan per share, from 8 yuan previously, representing a nearly 80 fall. The company39;s net profit fell 30.9 in 2022 from…