China's Securities Regulatory Commission has authorized Bao Steel to refer shares on Thursday. It has been long expected since the company passed the plan last September.

The plan was first raised in August last year, but opposed by the investors. The Bao Steel board then revised the plan, and subsequently passed in September.

The company plans to issue 5 billion shares at most. Meanwhile, Huadian Power confirmed an IPO price range of between 2.30 and 2.53 yuan a share.

The Huadian offering is the first IPO in 5 months, and in 2005. This price is much cheaper than share prices of its mainland listed peers.

This helped to pull down sentiment on the mainland market.

The Shanghai Index reached the new low, falling below the 1,200 point-level for the first time in five years.

Source: CCTV.com