SHANGHAISINGAPORE, Feb 26 Reuters Companies have scrambled to scuttle plans for initial public offering in China this year as the securities watchdog tightens rules on share listings in a bearish market.

Fortyseven companies pulled their listing plans from China39;s stock exchanges so far this year, compared with 29 withdrawals during the same period one year earlier, data from stock exchanges showed.

The cancellations come as the China Securities Regulatory Commission CSRC, under new chairman Wu Qing, solicited regulatory opinions from market participants and fined a company for fraudulent listing, amid other measures to restore confidence as major indexes linger near fiveyear lows.

A CSRC official also said on Friday that share issuers will face heavy penalties for accounting fraud, and the watchdog will conduct more onsite inspections.

Under highpressure regulation, the number of IPO initial public offering withdrawals reached a new high, securities broker Shenwan Hongyuan said in a note.

China39;s new share sales, which once dominated the global IPO market going by proceeds, already slowed late last year when regulators started a phased restriction on IPOs to promote a dynamic equilibrium between investment and financing.

Some 313 companies completed IPOs in China last year, raising 356 billion yuan 49.5 billion in total, down from 424 IPOs and 587 billion yuan raised in 2022, according to Guotai Junan Securities.

Last week, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange…