File photo of Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs at Apple’s “Let’s Rock” media event in San Francisco.

Steve Jobs, chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of Apple Inc. who has been on medical leave since January to treat an undisclosed medical condition, received a liver transplant in U.S. sate of Tennessee about two months ago, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

Jobs has been recovering well and is expected to return to work on schedule later this month, the newspaper said.

When he does return, Jobs may be encouraged by his physicians to initially work part-time for a month or two and that may lead Apple’s chief operating officer Tim Cook to take “a more encompassing role,” an unnamed person familiar with the situation was quoted as saying.

Jobs, 54 years old, disclosed in August 2004 that he had been treated for a rare form of pancreatic cancer, saying the tumor was diagnosed in time and he had undergone surgery to remove it.

In the following years, the thin, almost gaunt appearance of Jobs constantly inspired speculations about his health.

In early January this year, Jobs said his apparent weight loss is caused by a treatable hormone imbalance. But about a week later, he announced that the issue was more complex than he had thought and he would be taking a medical leave until the end of June.

“The type of slow-growing pancreatic tumor Mr. Jobs had will commonly metastasize in another organ during a patient’s lifetime, and that the organ is usually the liver,” The Wall Street Journal reported, citing William Hawkins, a doctor specializing in pancreatic and gastrointestinal surgery at Washington University in St. Louis.

According to the newspaper, at least some Apple board members were aware of the liver transplant. They have been briefed weekly on the CEO’s condition by his physician as part of an agreement with Jobs in place before he went on leave.

During his leave, Jobs has remained involved in key aspects of Apple and reviewed products and product plans from home, the report said.

Chinese stocks rose to a weekly high on Friday after the securities regulator lifted a nine-month ban on initial public offerings (IPOs), indicating investors’ strengthened confidence in the market based on ample liquidity and clearer signs of economic recovery.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks the bigger of China’s bourses, rose 26.59, or 0.9 percent, to 2,880.49 at close, its highest close since July 28, 2008.

The CSI 300 Index, measuring exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen, gained 0.7 percent to 3,080.

“We expected the new IPOs to be the biggest bad news for the capital market this year,” said James Yuan, chief investment officer of Everbright Pramerica Fund Management Co Ltd. “But now it is not as daunting, thanks to the improved economy, more liquidity and new listing rules.”

Guilin Sanjin Pharmaceutical Co, a medium-sized drug firm, on Thursday night received regulatory approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to seek a stock exchange listing, marking the resumption of IPOs since September last year.

The company said it plans to float 46 million A shares on the Shenzhen bourse on June 29 and will start a road show for the same on June 22.

“The restarting of IPOs of smaller firms rather than the big caps indicates that the government aims to stabilize the market,” said Dong Chen, senior analyst, CITIC China Securities. “If the market does not panic after the new round of IPOs, the regulator will grant more approvals next week, but probably for small caps.”

Earlier reports said China State Construction Engineering Corp (CSCEC), the country’s biggest home-builder, would probably be among the first batch of companies to issue 12 billion shares to the public and raise about 40 billion yuan.

Based on the number of new shares to be issued and the average price-earning ratio on the secondary market, analysts said the 32 companies now waiting could raise as much as 70 billion yuan through their IPOs.

“The loose monetary policy, coupled with the huge advance of the Shanghai Composite Index, has bolstered confidence that the stock market can withstand the added supply of stock,” said Dong.

“Meanwhile, the anticipation of gains on their investments may propel more investors to test the market waters, when the bullish trend becomes clear,” he said.

China’s major market barometer has surged nearly 58 percent this year, thanks to the government’s timely launch of the 4-trillion-yuan economic stimulus package and loose monetary policy.

The resumption of IPOs is also expected to give a strong boost to brokerages whose earnings are expected to improve on the investment banking revenues.

CITIC Securities gained 2.8 percent to 29.54 yuan, the highest in a year, while Sinolink jumped 10 percent to 21.46 yuan.

Shares of medical companies also outperformed on news of drugmaker Guilin Sanjin’s listing and the spread of the H1N1 flu virus.

Beijing Tiantan Biological Products, a biological bacterin producer, jumped to its 10 percent daily limit for the second day in a row to 26.26 yuan after it said on Thursday that it had started to research bacterin for fighting the H1N1 flu virus.