The number and value of initial public offerings (IPOs) by Chinese companies in overseas markets have plummeted this year, while the number of firms seeking a domestic listing have soared. Data from Bloomberg showed that Chinese companies announced just 14 overseas listings worth a combined USD666 million, a 98% fall from USD29 billion in 2014 – both the lowest total number and lowest value in four years. There were also a record number of 38 Chinese firms delisting in the United States and seeking to relist at home, of which five have already completed the procedure. The switch from an approval to a registration procedure for IPOs on the domestic stock market will lower the listing threshold, simplify the process and emphasize financial disclosure. Official figures showed USD17 billion worth of funds was raised from IPOs at the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses this year, a 33% year-on-year increase, even with a four-month suspension in listings, which ended in November. Separate data from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) showed that in the first half of the year, Chinese bourses registered 187 IPOs, worth CNY146.1 billion, a 260% year-on-year growth in deal numbers and a 314% year-on-year increase in value. KPMG forecast that the Shanghai Stock Exchange alone will have seen 89 IPOs by the end of 2015, triple the number of last year, and worth CNY108 billion, to become the world’s fourth-largest IPO market, the China Daily reports.