The Nasdaq-style ChiNext board marked its 15th anniversary on October 30. After 15 years of rapid growth, the board has become an important incubator for the development of high-quality private enterprises. As of October 30, 1,358 companies from a wide range of sectors, including advanced manufacturing, the digital economy, and the green and low-carbon sectors had gone public on the ChiNext, and their total market capitalization exceeded CNY12 trillion. In the past 15 years, the ChiNext board has nurtured quality high-tech companies that have showcased strong innovation capability and growth momentum, and they became important innovation engines driving the country's high-quality economic growth, Yang Delong, Chief Economist at Shenzhen-based First Seafront Fund, told the Global Times. At present, there are more than 1,000 private enterprises listed on the ChiNext board, which has become an important incubator for the development of high-quality private companies. Many enterprises have gained tangible benefits after listing on the board, and they have strong expectations for the development of the board.
Since going public on ChiNext in June 2018, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd (CATL), a leading battery maker, has raised nearly CNY70 billion from investors and issued CNY4.5 billion in corporate bonds. A private placement completed in 2022 remains the largest ever on the board, which underscores the strong support of China's capital markets for the development of CATL. Over the years, the ChiNext board has played the role of a “test field” for China's capital market development. It has conducted institutional trials and innovations that better conform to the development characteristics of innovative and growth enterprises, accumulating reform experience for the capital market, Yang noted. “The rapid development of the ChiNext board has been a highlight in the construction of a multi-layered capital market in China,” Yang said, noting that the ChiNext board greatly enhances the capability of China's capital market to serve the new economy.
“The ChiNext board witnessed the leapfrog development of innovative enterprises over the past 15 years,” a Spokesperson of Chinese medical device company Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co, told the Global Times. China's top securities regulator is studying and drawing up action plans to further deepen capital market reform, Wu Qing, Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), said at the Annual Conference of the Financial Street Forum 2024 in Beijing on October 18, the Global Times reports.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and five other Chinese government departments released revised regulations for foreign investment in listed companies, making it much easier for overseas investors to invest in Chinese listed firms. The revised measures mainly reduce the investment threshold in five aspects. Foreign individuals are now allowed to make strategic investments in listed companies. Previously, only legal entities were allowed to make such investments. The revised regulations also reduced the asset requirements for foreign investors. The asset threshold for non-controlling foreign investors has been lowered, now requiring USD50 million instead of USD100 million for their total assets, and USD300 million instead of USD500 million for their assets under management. The revised regulations also added tender offer, private placement and negotiated transfer as approved investment methods. Since the implementation of the previous measures in 2005, foreign investors have made strategic investments in more than 600 listed companies.
