To implement the Opinions of the State Council on Further Improving the Quality of Listed Companies and the 2020-2022 Action Plan for SOE Reforms, SZSE, together with the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the People’s Government of Guangdong (the “SASAC Guangdong”), recently organized and held the forum on improving the quality of guangdong provincial state-controlled listed companies. SZSE Chairman Wang Jianjun, heads of the SASAC Guangdong, Guangdong Financial Supervisory Authority, CSRC Guangdong Branch and CSRC Shenzhen Branch, heads of three listed companies’ controlling shareholders, and persons in charge of 13 listed companies attended the forum.
Listed companies are the fundamentals of the real economy and important factors to drive high-quality development. As principal entities on the capital market, state-controlled listed companies play an important role in setting an example for the improvement of the overall quality of listed companies. So far, there are 13 Guangdong provincial state-controlled listed companies on the SZSE market covering various industries including electronics, public utilities, automobile, nonferrous metals, media, transportation, mining, architectural ornament and chemical. In 2020, the 13 listed companies achieved operating income and net profit attributable to parent company of CNY 9.26 billion and CNY 360 million on average respectively.
At the forum, heads of state-owned assets administrations and regulators briefed the guiding principles of relevant policies, reform arrangements and work progress. Attendees had in-depth discussions and exchanges on how to make good and sufficient use of the capital market to strengthen the development of main business, standardize corporate governance and internal control, push ahead with mixed-ownership reform in SOEs, and promote market-based M&A and restructuring to achieve optimal allocation of state-owned assets.
SZSE Chairman Wang Jianjun pointed out that listed companies have to undertake primary responsibilities to improve their quality. First, listed companies should be authentic to investors, not cooking the book or telling lies. Second, listed companies should be compliant, honest and trustworthy, holding the bottom lines and assuming liabilities. Third, listed companies should strive to be respected companies that attach importance to return, do well in cooperate management, and create excellent return to investors. Fourth, listed companies should be companies with sound governance and stable operation that focus on main business and do not expand blindly or pursue extensive development. Fifth, listed companies should set an example and pursue innovation-oriented development. Guangdong provincial state-controlled listed companies should take the lead in the improvement of the quality of listed companies.
Since 2020, under the leadership of CSRC, The improvement of the quality of listed companies, which is part of the regulatory services of SZSE, has been high on the agenda of SZSE. We have formulated special plans including the Work Plan for Implementing the Opinions of the State Council on Further Improving the Quality of Listed Companies and the Special Measures for Implementing the 2020-2022 Action Plan for SOE Reforms. We have strengthened communication and coordination with local governments and relevant authorities, continued to pay inspection visits, organized and held experience sharing meetings on the improvement of the quality of listed companies, and facilitated the implementation of relevant policies and measures on quality improvements. With the joint efforts of all parties, the quality of SZSE-listed companies has steadily improved. High-risk companies on the SZSE market have currently decreased by about thirty percent from the beginning of 2020 and companies with a high proportion of pledged shares have fallen by nearly half from the peak, indicating that phased progress has been made in defusing risks in key fields. In the meantime, after further optimizing their structures to improve quality and efficiency through strategic M&A and industrial integration and so on, SZSE-listed state-owned enterprises saw their operating income and net profit rise by 10.3% and 31.4% year on year respectively in 2020, showing improvement in overall quality. SZSE will actively practice the principles of “system building, non-intervention, and zero tolerance”, follow CSRC’s urges to revere the market, revere the rule of law, hold high professionalism, stay alert to risks, and obtain support from various parties, and adhere to the working philosophy of being “open-minded, transparent, disinterested and impartial”. SZSE will continue to refine basic systems, focus on improving the quality and efficiency of regulation, and deepen communication and collaboration with market participants. As a result, a synergy will be formed to facilitate the establishment of a long-acting mechanism for regulatory services for listed companies and work with all market participants to jointly take the quality of listed companies up to a new level, thus better serving national strategies and high-quality economic development.
After the forum, four listed companies under the SASAC Guangdong, namely, Zhongjin Lingnan (000060), No.2 Hydropower (002060), Fenghua Advanced Tech (000636) and Hongda Blasting (002683), held the 2020 and 2021 Q1 Collective Performance Briefing at the Listing Hall of SZSE. It attracted over 190,000 views in total through offline and online channels.
