The China Securities Regulatory Commission, the Chinese regulator, has suspended initial public offerings on its mainland exchanges as it prepares to open up pricing to market forces.

It could affect sizeable new issues from Bank of China and China Construction Bank, which are expected to raise up to $14m (€ 11.5m) as they prepare to float on domestic exchanges as well as internationally.The regulator has frozen IPO activity as it awaits feedback on new pricing guidelines, which aim to bring China more in line with international practice.