In a bid to support the real economy, China's securities watchdog approved the IPO applications of 280 companies in 2016, said a senior official on Sunday.

The 248 firms which have finished the IPOs raised a total of 163 billion yuan (about 23.7 billion U.S. dollars), said Liu Shiyu, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) at a press conference.

Last year, listed companies raised more than 1.34 trillion yuan through refinancing and some 261 companies increased their capital through mergers and acquisitions, said Liu.

The number of companies listed on the New Third Board -- China's share transfer system for medium and small sized companies -- almost doubled to over 10,000 in the past year with more than 139.1 billion yuan raised, Liu said.

The bond market also flourished, with enterprises issuing over 2.7 trillion yuan of bonds last year, he added.