Chinese companies are expected to raise over 500 billion yuan (US$73.8 billion) through initial public offerings (IPO) this year, making the country the world's largest IPO market, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) announced on Monday.

In the first half of this year, 176 companies had launched IPOs in Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses, raising as much as 212.7 billion yuan, PwC said in a report issued Monday.

Forty-three percent of companies listed in the first half came from the manufacturing industry, 27 percent were engaged in telecommunications and the information technology industry, while 26 percent come from retail and service industries.

Charles Feng, PwC Beijing lead partner, said China's IPO markets would maintain their robust growth momentum in the second half and may hit record highs this year in terms of IPO numbers and fund raising size.

China's IPO market will witness the world's largest listing in mid-July as Agricultural Bank of China, the last of China's big four banks to go public, will complete its dual listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong this month.

The bank may raise up to US$23.2 billion via the IPO, beating a record US$21.9 billion raised by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country's largest lender, in its IPO in 2006.

(Xinhua News Agency July 6, 2010)