First Anniversary of the "Eight Measures": Over 30 Reforms Drive New Quality Productive Forces in the SSE STAR Market

Translated from Securities Times, Zhang Shuxian

On June 19, 2024, the China Securities Regulatory Commission issued the Eight Measures on Deepening the SSE STAR Market Reform and Supporting Scientific and Technological Innovation and the Development of New Quality Productive Forces (the "Eight Measures"), focusing on enhancing the inclusiveness of the capital market for scientific and technological innovation and launching more than 30 reform measures in eight aspects. Over the past year, the reform has moved from "building pillars and beams" to the stage of "accumulating momentum", injecting new impetus into the capital market and becoming a benchmark practice for serving scientific and technological innovation.

Stable Endurance of Unprofitable Enterprises

The SSE STAR Market pioneered the fifth set of listing standards of "market value + R&D", and the "Eight Measures" further clarified support for unprofitable companies to be listed. After the implementation of the policy, the IPO applications of 4 unprofitable companies, including ESWIN (integrated circuit silicon wafer) and OnMicro (chip design), were accepted. A total fund of more than 16 billion yuan was raised, investing in capacity construction and R&D innovation, and helping to make the semiconductor industry chain independent.

As of May 2025, the SSE STAR Market has supported 54 unprofitable companies to be listed, covering innovative drugs, AI and other fields, of which 22 have achieved their first profit after listing and shed the "U" mark. In 2024, the revenue of these enterprises exceeded 170 billion yuan (a year-on-year increase of 24%), and their net profit shrank by 36% year on year. Their operating efficiency continued to improve. During the same period, 15 new companies were listed, 12 of which are national-level specialized and innovative "little giants", raising 12.4 billion yuan, highlighting the "content of science and technology".

The Pilot Program of Issuance and Underwriting Has Been Fully Implemented

After the release of the "Eight Measures", the SSE STAR Market piloted rules such as a 3% high exclusion ratio and market value allotments for new shares of 6 million yuan, and issued 6 institutional rules to strengthen the value discovery function. Data shows that 15 projects are subject to a 3% elimination ratio, and there is no "collusion to force down prices"; 12 projects are subject to market value-based allocation, and investors' offline allocation ratio has increased. The Securities Association of China has revised 3 self-discipline rules to regulate the behavior of offline investors and cultivate a high-quality investment team.

In March 2025, the China Securities Regulatory Commission and SSE revised the issuance and underwriting rules to allow unprofitable enterprises to adopt agreed sales restrictions, guide medium- and long-term funds such as public funds to participate in allotments through different restricted sales levels, and improve the introduction mechanism of "patient capital".

"Light Assets and High R&D Investment" Criteria Are Clearly Implemented

In October 2024, SSE clarified the identification criteria of "light assets and high R&D investment", and 9 enterprises applied for application. They planned to raise nearly 25 billion yuan, focusing on biomedicine and semiconductor R&D. Among them, Dizal (Jiangsu) Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Verisilicon Microelectronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. have registered and taken effect in refinancing.

Bond financing channels have been expanded simultaneously. Two companies, Nexchip Semiconductor Corporation and China Railway Signal & Communication Corporation Limited, have applied for science and technology bonds and are subject to the review "green channel". China Railway Signal & Communication Corporation Limited's science and technology innovation bonds took only 35 working days from acceptance to registration, and the coupon rate was the lowest among central SOEs of the same term; Nexchip Semiconductor Corporation has been approved for registration, helping to optimize its debt structure.

The M&A Market Has Entered an Active Period

The "Eight Measures" and the "Six M&A Measures" work together, and the revised restructuring rules introduce mechanisms such as installment payment of share consideration and simplified review procedures. Data shows that since the release of the "Eight Measures", there have been more than 110 new M&A transactions (60 completed), with a transaction amount exceeding 140 billion yuan. Hygon Information Technology Co., Ltd. intends to absorb and merge Dawning Information Industry Co., Ltd. The transaction scale is expected to exceed 100 billion yuan.

The market has seen innovative cases such as the restructuring of the first directional convertible bonds, "A-share company controlling H-share company" and "A-share acquiring H-share company", and diversified payment tools such as M&A funds and bank loans. The merger case of Hygon Information Technology Co., Ltd. will integrate chip, software and system resources to promote the strengthening and supplementation of the semiconductor industry chain.

The SSE STAR Market Index System Is Being Improved

The number of SSE STAR Market indices has increased to 29, covering broad-based indices (such as SSE STAR Market 200 Index and SSE STAR Market Composite Index), industry-themed (AI, medical care), strategy (profit quality) and other types, achieving full coverage of market value and industrial chain. There are 161 domestic and international tracking products, with a scale of nearly 260 billion yuan. Among them, the SSE STAR Market 50 Index has become the flagship of "hard technology" investment, with a tracking scale of more than 180 billion yuan.

The ETF product chain continues to expand, with 84 listed (with a scale of nearly 250 billion yuan, an increase of 60% compared to before the reform), industry-themed ETFs reaching 39 billion yuan (4 times that before the reform), and 27 fund companies deployed (13 more than before the reform) to guide funds to the hard technology field.

The "Corporate Value and Return Enhancement" Action Has Been Further Implemented

The SSE STAR Market has implemented the "corporate value and return enhancement" action since 2024, with more than 80% of companies disclosing their plans. In 2025, 479 companies participated (year-on-year growth), and the constituent stocks of the SSE STAR Market 50 Index and the SSE STAR Market 100 Index were fully covered for two consecutive years.

In terms of effectiveness, more than 60% of the companies implemented cash dividends (with a total amount exceeding 38.6 billion yuan) in 2024, with 290 companies distributing over 30%; 320 companies launched repurchase and shareholding increase plans (with an upper limit of more than 35 billion yuan), and 78 companies used special loans to effectively improve investor returns.

Continuous Optimization of the Whole-Chain Supervision System

After the release of the "Eight Measures", SSE has actively maintained the standardized and orderly market ecosystem of the SSE STAR Market. In May 2025, the Guidelines No. 1 of the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Self-Regulation for Listed Companies in SSE STAR Market—Standardized Operation was revised to delete relevant provisions on the window period and improve the adaptability of rules. In addition, since the beginning of this year, SSE has completed a comprehensive revision of nearly 60 announcement formats in the SSE STAR Market Stock Listing Rules and supporting guidelines. Focusing on the institutional connection of the new Company Law, SSE has systematically improved the SSE STAR Market Supervision Rules System around key areas such as corporate governance optimization and investor protection. In terms of judicial protection, the Shanghai Securities Arbitration Center has been established. In 2024, it accepted more than 40% of securities and futures cases, with a dispute amount exceeding 16 billion yuan, and efficiently resolved disputes.

Actively Creating a Good Market Ecosystem

In terms of market ecosystem construction, SSE visited and investigated nearly 200 companies and held 6 "hard science and hard customer" new quality productive forces and future industry salons, covering cutting-edge technology fields such as AI, low-altitude economy, robotics, etc., to build an industry-finance matching platform. At the same time, more than 130 investor education activities have been held, 49 themed investor education works have been released, and 60 themed investor education programs have been produced and broadcast. A total of 35 million investors have been reached online and offline. This promoted the formation of rational investment, value investment, and long-term investment concepts, and contributed to the healthy and stable development of the SSE STAR Market.

The above information is provided for reference purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.