China Tightens Rules on Shanghai Star Board IPOs, Curbs Fintech

China’s securities regulator issued tighter rules for first-time share sales on Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style Star board, requiring startups to prove their technology credentials.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission on Friday published guidelines that include restrictions on initial public offerings by fintech companies. The guidelines also ban firms that mainly operate in real estate and sectors related to financial investment from seeking an IPO on the Star board.

The rules specify support for so-called hard-tech companies, such as next-generation information systems and high-end equipment makers, to list on the Star board. The newly updated criteria look to evaluate a firm’s research and ...