BEIJING -- China's securities regulator has given priority to enterprises from the country's western regions that are seeking approval for initial public offering, according to the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

The move, starting from this month, aims to promote the development of the country's western regions, especially in regards to the real economy, China Securities Journal reported Monday, citing sources from the CSRC.

Enterprises from western regions that are applying for an IPO on the Shanghai or Shenzhen markets will be specially labeled, according to the CSRC.

Currently, 129 enterprises nationwide are seeking approval to list in Shanghai, while 629 are applying for IPOs in Shenzhen, according to the CSRC's announcement on Aug 10.

However, the CSRC seems to have slowed down the pace of approving new IPOs amid a poorly performing stock market, though it had previously hinted that an IPO suspension was unlikely.

No new prospectus has been published since July 16, according to the CSRC's website.

The CSRC began to disclose prospectuses of enterprises seeking IPOs and going under the commission's preliminary examinations since February this year, and it is the first time that no new prospectus was disclosed for more than 25 days.

China's stock market has been shaken this year over concerns of a deepening slowdown in the national economy amid the global downturn. The key Shanghai index has declined more than 10 percent from its peak in February.

The country's GDP expanded 7.6 percent in the second quarter of the year, down sharply from 9.5 percent a year earlier and half a point below the 8.1 percent rise seen in the first three months of this year.

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