A total of 23 multinationals have stated their intention to list on the international board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, said He Zhaofeng, IPO head for Greater China at Ernst & Young, National Business Daily reported Wednesday.

The list provided by Ernst & Young includes GE, Walmart, Unilever, Volkswagen, Standard Chartered Bank, DBS Bank, P&G, IBM, Reuters Group, Prudential, Siemens, Mercedes-Benz and Gazprom.

The firms all have big stakes in the Chinese market and one use of the funds raised from the listings will be to hedge against currency risks, He said.

He added that the Chinese government is unlikely to launch the international board before the first half of 2011.

China's business press carried the story above on Wednesday. China.org.cn has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.