BEIJING, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese securities regulator Friday approved five new IPO applications, which will raise up to 6.7 billion yuan (about 1.04 billion U.S. dollars) in the A-share market.

Three companies will be listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and two will be listed on the ChiNext, a NASDAQ-style board, according to the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

The firms and their underwriters will confirm dates and publish prospectuses following discussions with the exchanges.

China has sought to normalize IPOs to improve financing efficiency and direct more money into the real economy since it suspended IPOs between July and November 2015.

New shares are subject to official approval under the current IPO system, which is moving to a more market-oriented system.