Distinguished CSRC Vice Chairman Li Ming, Vice Mayor Xie Dong, esteemed guests, ladies and gentlemen, and friends:
Good morning! This year marks the sixth consecutive year of our Global Investors Conference. On behalf of Shanghai Stock Exchange, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all our distinguished leaders and guests and express my sincere greetings to both new and old friends!
Since the beginning of this year, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council have made significant decisions on the high-quality development of the capital market. In April, the State Council issued Several Opinions on Strengthening Supervision, Preventing Risks and Promoting High-Quality Development of the Capital Market. In July, the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee emphasized the need to "improve coordination in capital market functions of investment and financing." On September 26, a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee made a series of important arrangements, focusing on enhancing countercyclical fiscal and monetary adjustments, promoting a stable real estate market and boosting the capital market. With the accelerated rollout and implementation of a series of policy measures, the trend of economic recovery and improvement continues to strengthen, significantly boosting confidence in the capital market. This series of positive developments has not only laid a solid foundation for high-quality growth but also created favorable conditions for the capital market to drive continuous innovation and openness and to further deepen comprehensive reforms. This year's conference, themed "Innovation, Openness, and High-Quality Development," holds great practical significance. I would like to take this opportunity to share some insights on the mission and vision of Shanghai Stock Exchange in further advancing comprehensive reforms within the capital market.
Promoting Development through Reform to Better Serve the Growth of New Quality Productive Forces
Developing new quality productive forces is an inherent requirement and critical focus for driving high-quality development, as well as a major strategic initiative in advancing Chinese modernization. Shanghai Stock Exchange is committed to implementing the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress, the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, and the Central Financial Work Conference, as well as the tasks outlined in the Several Opinions on Strengthening Supervision, Preventing Risks and Promoting High-Quality Development of the Capital Market. The SSE has been actively advancing the implementation of policies such as the "16 Measures to Support Tech Companies" and the "STAR Market Eight Measures," continuously driving the development of the STAR Market to provide strong support for the innovative growth of "key & core technology" enterprises.
First, we are committed to the STAR Market's focus on "key & core technologies" to help build a strong country in science and technology. Centered on the core objectives of "enhancing regulation, preventing risks, and promoting high-quality development," we focus on critical, core technology areas, rigorously imposing entry requirements to better direct resources toward technological innovation and more robustly support the growth of new quality productive forces.
Second, we continue to refine a regulatory framework tailored to the characteristics of science and technology enterprises. Based on the development needs of these companies, we have introduced a series of regulatory innovations in areas such as IPOs, follow-on offerings, M&A, equity incentives, and information disclosure. We are promoting the establishment of "green channels" for equity and debt financing and M&A for "key & core technology" enterprises. Additionally, we are continuously optimizing the evaluation criteria and standards for tech-oriented companies, improving supporting mechanisms for following-on offerings, equity incentives, and M&A to enhance the market's inclusiveness and adaptability toward technological innovation.
Third, we are enhancing the market ecosystem to support the development of new quality productive forces. We have vigorously promoted the "scale and quality expansion" of technology innovation corporate bonds, with 366.5 billion yuan in such bonds issued from January to September this year, an 80% year-on-year increase. We continue to diversify the STAR Market index system and are actively developing the series of STAR Market ETFs. Additionally, we are encouraging private equity and venture capital funds to focus on "early-stage, small-scale, long-term, and key & core technology" investments. Currently, 90% of companies listed on the STAR Market received venture capital investments prior to listing, with an average investment of around 930 million yuan per company.
Enhancing Efficiency through Reform to Improve Capital Market Investability
In recent years, the SSE has continuously improved the quality of listed companies, diversified its product offerings, and strengthened investor protection efforts.
First, we are focused on significantly improving the quality and investment value of listed companies. We are making solid progress with the "corporate value and return enhancement" initiative, guiding listed companies to enhance their operational quality and deliver better returns to investors. Over 1,000 companies on the SSE have disclosed specific action plans, utilizing methods like stock buybacks and increased shareholding to boost investor confidence. We also actively encourage companies to increase dividend payouts; in 2023, cash dividends from SSE-listed companies reached 1.7 trillion yuan.
Second, we are making substantial progress on the investment side. We continue to expand the system of broad-based indices and ETF products, actively guiding the inflow of incremental capital and promoting high-quality development of index-based investments. In the first three quarters of this year, net inflows to broad-based ETFs on the SSE exceeded 700 billion yuan, bringing the total scale to 1.6 trillion yuan, representing 77% of the SSE's stock ETF assets. In collaboration with the CSI, we have developed and revised 286 indices, with the total value of SSE and CSI index products surpassing 3 trillion yuan.
Third, we are strengthening investor protection. We are actively promoting the principles of rational, value-oriented, and long-term investing, launching the Proposal for Rational Investment, Value Investment, and Long-term Investment in the Capital Market, which has garnered support from 315 market institutions. We introduced real-name verification for shareholder identity confirmation, enhancing the convenience of online voting in general meetings. Additionally, we have streamlined channels for investor rights consultations and are advancing the development of an integrated platform for addressing investor concerns.
Promoting Openness through Reform, Pursuing Capital Market Openness While Ensuring Security
The SSE remains committed to advancing two-way openness in both markets and products, actively supporting the development of Shanghai as an international financial center and contributing to a high-standard, institutional opening-up of the capital market.
First, we continue to optimize the connect scheme with the Hong Kong market. Under the guidance of securities regulators in both regions, we have improved the information disclosure system for Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, enhancing alignment between information disclosure practices and market development. We have also expanded the range of eligible ETFs under Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and refined ETF inclusion criteria, further enhancing the diversity and liquidity of Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect ETF products.
Second, we are further enriching cross-border products. Actively promoting cross-border index-based investment, this year we launched the first domestic cross-border ETF products targeting the Saudi market. Currently, there are 75 cross-border ETFs listed on the SSE with a total scale exceeding 250 billion yuan, effectively covering broad-based indices of major global markets.
Third, we are enhancing services for international investors. Since the beginning of this year, we have held a number of global investor roadshows and promotion activities to tell the story of China's capital market well and attract more medium- and long-term overseas funds into the market. Participation by overseas investors on the SSE continues to rise, with their share of trading volume increasing to 14.4%. Meanwhile, we are constantly improving a risk control system that aligns with institutional openness and strengthening regulatory capabilities under open-market conditions.
Going forward, under the guidance of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee and the unified leadership of China Securities Regulatory Commission, Shanghai Stock Exchange will be committed to the core mission of revitalizing the capital market and steadfastly advance comprehensive reforms. We will further leverage the STAR Market as a "testing ground" for reforms, expedite the implementation of policies like the "STAR Market Eight Measures," and continue to enhance the capital market's alignment with and support for technological innovation. We will continue to strengthen the inherent stability of the capital market, implementing a range of measures to prevent and mitigate market risks, and emphasizing the coordinated development of primary and secondary markets to ensure stable market operations. We are committed to upholding the people-centered nature of the capital market, further improving investor protection mechanisms, and effectively safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of all investors, particularly small and medium investors. We will strengthen frontline supervision, rigorously cracking down on financial fraud, insider trading, market manipulation, and other illegal activities, to continually improve the market ecosystem. We will keep working to raise the quality and investment value of listed companies, supporting them in making full use of policy tools and encouraging them to deepen their efforts in the "corporate value and return enhancement" initiative. We will also accelerate the development on the investment side, actively encouraging various types of long-term capital to allocate assets through index-based investment, fostering a rational, value-oriented, and long-term-focused index investment ecosystem.
Distinguished guests and dear friends,
China's economic fundamentals remain solid, with immense potential and remarkable resilience amid an increasingly uncertain global economic environment. We are full of confidence in the continued steady growth of China's economy and the steady progress of our capital market. Shanghai Stock Exchange will remain dedicated to enhancing the functions of the capital market, accelerating its transformation into a world-class exchange that meets the needs of high-quality development and the goals of Chinese modernization. We are willing to join hands with colleagues from all sectors to seize the opportunities presented by reform and opening up, continuously expand new horizons for high-quality capital markets, and inject new momentum into China's high-quality economic development. We warmly welcome investment and success of global investors in China. Let's work together to build an open, inclusive, and efficient market ecosystem and share the fruits of China's high-quality economic development.
Finally, I wish this conference a great success!
Thank you!
