BEIJING, Dec. 31 -- China's state securities regulator approved the listing of five companies on Monday evening, signaling the resumption of initial public offerings (IPO) on its stock markets after a break of more than one year.

More companies will receive approval in the coming days, and about 50 companies are expected to complete preparation for listing by the end of January, Tuesday's China Securities Journal reported.

China has an approval-based IPO system, whereby new listing candidates go through multiple rounds of reviews to receive approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).

The country halted new share listings in the fourth quarter of 2012 in an effort to prop up the ailing stock market and reframe the country's IPO mechanism.

The CSRC last month unveiled a reform plan for the new share issuance system, building up market expectations for IPO resumption.

The plan aims at making reviews of new listing candidates more transparent and valuations of new share offerings better reflect the demand-supply dynamics.