Global Times｜SSE releases guidelines on setting up of a sci-tech growth tier
The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) on Sunday released guidelines on details of a sci-tech growth tier on the Nasdaq-style sci-tech innovation board, also known as the STAR Market, which came less than a month after the country's securities regulator announced on June 18 the setting up of a sci-tech growth tier.
Highlighting better support for high-quality tech enterprises that are not profitable yet, the new reform doesn't come up with extra thresholds for the inclusion of unprofitable enterprises in the growth tier, an official of the SSE said in response to the revisions to the rules, according to a statement on the SSE website.
The 32 existing unprofitable enterprises will be included in the growth tier the day after the implementation of the guidelines, while newly registered unprofitable enterprises will enter from the date of their listing, it said.
Across the globe, tech firms often face high uncertainty in their operating performance in the early stage and it takes a prolonged period for them to achieve profitability. Whether capital market services can effectively cover those enterprises has emerged as a key indicator for investors to evaluate the inclusiveness and adaptability of a market, Xi Junyang, a professor at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times on Sunday.
"The establishment of the growth tier underscores the support of the capital market for sci-tech innovation, and it will contribute to the development of new quality productive forces," Xi Junyang said. Through better management of unprofitable tech firms, it will help investors identify risks and better safeguard their legitimate rights and interests, he said, noting that more innovative reform measures are expected on the STAR Market.
Wu Qing, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission said on June 18 during the 2025 Lujiazui Forum that the commission will further deepen capital market reform and opening-up, and will step up efforts to roll out a "1+6" policy package to foster the STAR Market reform.
As to the package, its core lies in setting up a sci-tech growth tier on the STAR Market and resuming application of the fifth set of related listing standards for unprofitable enterprises to serve more precisely qualified quality sci-tech firms.
In May, Chinese government agencies including the Ministry of Science and Technology, the People's Bank of China (PBC), the National Development and Reform Commission, and other authorities issued a guideline that proposed 15 concrete measures to promote financial services for sci-tech innovation, including those to boost venture investment, credit supply and insurance support.
The country will take advantage of the capital market in serving sci-tech innovation, and prioritize the public offerings of enterprises that achieve breakthroughs in critical core technologies, according to the document on the PBC website.
Amid further reform in the capital market and stable macro-economic growth, institutions and experts remain upbeat about the prospects of the A-share market.
Benefiting from China's fiscal policy support and the potential weakening of the US dollar, Standard Chartered has remained overweight on China equity, and remains optimistic about technology, telecommunications services and non-essential consumer goods sectors, according to a note sent to the Global Times on Wednesday.
Chinese stocks closed higher on Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.01 percent to 3,510.18 points.
"Recently, both the A-share and H-share markets have risen against the broader global market trend, as overseas capital is flowing into China for opportunities. Such a trend may be more pronounced in the second half of the year," Yang Delong, chief economist at Shenzhen-based First Seafront Fund, told the Global Times, calling for confidence and patience.
Amid the accelerated development of new quality productive forces in China, the tech field, including semiconductors, humanoid robots and artificial intelligence, is expected to bring more opportunities, Yang noted.