SHANGHAI, Jan. 4 -- Chinese companies raised 78.7 billion yuan (12.7 billion U.S. dollars) through initial public offerings (IPOs) on the country's two stock exchanges last year, said a report on Sunday.

According to the report released by Deloitte, a leading international accounting and consulting firm, 125 Chinese companies launched IPOs in Shanghai and Shenzhen last year.

The number and value of domestic IPOs were 19 percent and 24 percent lower from 2012, it said.

Chinese securities regulators resumed IPOs in late April last year after a 18-month-long halt.

The report noted 43 percent of the IPO proceeds last year were raised from the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the rest from the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Wu Xiaohui, a partner of Deloitte China, said securities regulators might speed up the approval process this year as more than 600 companies are lining up for IPOs.

But market liquidity continues to be in the focus of the stock regulator, making the IPOs likely to be small or medium-sized, said Wu.

As for the companies which wish to raise a large amount of money, many might choose to list in Hong Kong, he said.