Ningbo Fangzheng Tool Co Ltd made an initial public offering on Shezhen Stock Exchange on June 2, becoming the 99th company from Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province, to be listed on A-share markets.

Founded in 2004 in Ningbo's Ninghai county, Fangzheng specializes in the research, development and manufacturing of plastic automotive molds.

It is the sixth company from Ningbo to be listed in the A-share market in the first five months of this year.

Ningbo is now ranked seventh nationwide in terms of the number of A-share listed companies, behind Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Guangzhou.

The city is expected to join the "100-plus club" soon given that 16 companies from the city have applied for IPO. One of these three companies - Ningbo Shimao Energy Co Ltd, Ningbo Daye Garden Industry Co Ltd and Ningbo Color Masterbatch Co Ltd – is likely to become the 100th A-share listed company from Ningbo.

Official data shows that net profits of A-share listed companies in Ningbo amounted to 51.8 billion yuan ($7.97 billion) in 2020, ranking eighth in China.

As of June 2, the 99 A-share listed companies from the city saw their total market value reach 1.209 trillion yuan, ranking 14th nationwide. 

Fifty-six of these companies are engaged in high-end manufacturing sectors such as automobile manufacturing and electrical equipment.

Optimized financing services have allowed more local enterprises to achieve growth by leveraging the capital market. As of June 2, the Ningbo Equity Exchange has offered more than 12 billion yuan for 350-plus enterprises.