SHANGHAI, Dec 18, 2008 (SinoCast Daily Business Beat via COMTEX) -- Overseas listed Chinese companies are expecting to return to the A-share market in a bid to take refuge from global financial crisis.

Baidu.com, Inc (Nasdaq: BIDU), a leading Chinese search engine for websites, audio files, and images, is seeking to list yuan-denominated A shares, said a source. There are two reasons. One is that the US stock market remains gloomy, which propels negative outlook and on the other hand, overseas listed companies are hard to timely invest the overseas fundraising in domestic growth due to China's foreign exchange control.

Cao Guowei, chief executive officer of Sina.com (Nasdaq: SINA), said that the company never ruled out the possibility of returning to the A-share market. At present, the Chinese authorities have yet to work out policies about A-share listing by overseas listed companies.

Hong Kong-listed Chinese companies seem to be easy to list A shares. According to China's draft interim rules on initial public offering in Mainland China by overseas-listed Chinese-controlled companies, only Hong Kong-listed companies can be granted approval for A-share listing. Thus the offshore companies are not accessible to the A-share market.

Shenzhen-based EVOC Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. (SEHK: 8285), one of the largest embedded intelligent platform (EIP) manufacturers in China, is in preparation for A-share IPO and has employed advisors for it, according to the vice president Fan Xiaoning.

Although the company has seized one third market share at home and owns intelligent property right for all of its products, it is hardly known beyond the sector, which holds back its sustainable growth. A-share listing is believed to help it expand the domestic presence.

ChinaSoft International Limited (SEHK: 8216), one of the largest information technology outsourcing (ITO) service and software companies in China, also plans A-share IPO on the huge potential in the domestic market. It expects the domestic business and international business will take half in the future, respectively.

China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) is discussing A-share listing by overseas-listed quality Chinese companies and foreign companies, said sources from the Commission. But so far none of mature scheme has come out.

CSRC ordered to suspend IPO and refinancing since September 2008, considering investors are jittery over expansion of A-share market capacity. A consensus has been reached globally that the Chinese economic fundamentals will not be affected by the global financial crisis. So many foreign financial institutions take China as a refuge by increasing investment and opening more outlets here.

(USD 1 = CNY 6.84)