China's Securities Regulator said on Monday that it has given its approval to China Merchants Securities to issue A-shares in the domestic stock market, the China Securities Journal reported Tuesday.

China Merchants Securities, one of China's top ten brokerages, plans to sell 358.55 million new A shares in an initial public offering (IPO). The shares are equivalent to 10% of its total share capital.

Despite the approval by China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), China Merchants Securities may not be able to launch the IPO immediately. According to the report, after winning the approval of the Department of Public Offering Supervision of the CSRC, applicants still need a final authorization before actually starting the IPO process. IPO plans from Everbright Securities, and China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), both approved in June, are still waiting for the regulator's final authorization.

"We've been intentionally organizing the frequency of refinancing and IPOs," a source told the newspaper before the review of China Merchants Securities IPO.

For more details, please read the complete story in Chinese:

(http://paper.cs.com.cn/html/2008-09/09/content_17936048.htm)

(China.org.cn by Yan Pei, September 9, 2008)