ZJM Environmental Energy Co, a subsidiary of Wuchan Zhongda Group, completed its initial public offering (IPO) on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Dec 16, becoming the 600th Zhejiang-based company to be listed on the A-share market.

Zhejiang is the second Chinese province following Guangdong to have at least 600 A-share listed companies.

It took three years for the number of Zhejiang-based A-share listed companies to grow from 400 to 500, but only one year and two months for the figure to increase from 500 to 600.

"So far this year, 85 Zhejiang-based companies have completed their IPOs on the A-share market. The number of annual additions is expected to be a record high," said an official from the Zhejiang Securities Regulatory Bureau.

Among the 85 companies, 14 are listed on the sci-tech innovation-focused STAR board in the Shanghai Stock Exchange and 30 are listed on the startup-focused ChiNext board in the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Currently, 83 percent of county-level regions in the province have at least one listed company. The coverage rate is higher than Guangdong (57 percent) and Jiangsu (75 percent).

"Looking ahead, we should prioritize enhancing the quality of Zhejiang's listed companies so as to lay a solid foundation for the province's high-quality economic development," said an official from the Zhejiang Securities Regulatory Bureau.

"We should also build a benign business environment that values strict compliance with laws and regulations so that Zhejiang companies will be well prepared for a capital market that fully adopts registration-based IPO system,"