The 5th anniversary of the opening of the Science and Technology Innovation Board
Editor's note: The Science and Technology Innovation Board is an important platform to support enterprises' scientific and technological innovation. As of the first half of 2024, a total of 573 companies have been listed and traded, with a total market capitalization of 5.12 trillion yuan, and in 2023, the total operating income of companies on the STAR Market will be about 1.4 trillion yuan, and the net profit will be 75.96 billion yuan, and the top 10 companies in terms of profit are mainly from the energy, technology and semiconductor sectors. The China Securities Regulatory Commission recently issued the "Eight Measures on Deepening the Reform of the Science and Technology Innovation Board, Serving Scientific and Technological Innovation and the Development of New Quality Productive Forces", which proposes to further deepen the reform. In this issue, the capital market explores how the Science and Technology Innovation Board can better serve the overall situation of Chinese-style modernization from the perspectives of strictly controlling the quality of listed enterprises, refining and optimizing the evaluation criteria for technology-based enterprises, optimizing the policies and procedures for mergers and acquisitions, optimizing the equity and debt financing system, improving the equity incentive system and improving the trading mechanism.
■Zhang Wei
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) recently issued the "Eight Measures on Deepening the Reform of the Science and Technology Innovation Board to Serve Scientific and Technological Innovation and the Development of New Quality Productive Forces" (hereinafter referred to as the "Eight Measures of the Science and Technology Innovation Board"), one of which is to "optimize the stock and debt financing system of listed companies on the Science and Technology Innovation Board".
01
There are still difficulties and blockages in the financing of stocks and bonds of science and technology enterprises
According to Wind data, as of the first half of 2024, a total of 573 companies have landed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board, but there are still difficulties and blockages in the financing of stocks and bonds of science and technology enterprises.
Ye Xiaojie, director of the Department of Finance at the Shanghai National Accounting Institute, said in an interview with the China Economic Times that science and technology enterprises have high technical professionalism and innovation, and the technical threshold is usually high, and it is often difficult for investors to fully understand and accurately value, resulting in a prominent problem of information asymmetry. Most of the science and technology enterprises are in the early stage or development stage, and the uncertainty of technology research and development and market prospects is large, so the risk assessment is more complicated. Science and technology enterprises usually need to invest a lot of money in research and development, and it is difficult to form a stable cash flow, which will also affect the willingness of creditors to invest. Financing difficulties may lead to the inability of science and technology enterprises to obtain sufficient funds in a timely manner to support R&D, production and market expansion, affecting their innovation capabilities and development speed.
Zhai Tiantian, an analyst at the research and development department of Oriental Jincheng, told the China Economic Times that the mainland's support for technology companies has been increasing, the old and new kinetic energy has gradually changed, and the R&D investment and downstream demand of listed companies on the Science and Technology Innovation Board have increased, and the willingness to refinance is strong. The "Eight Articles of the Science and Technology Innovation Board" clearly require improving the efficiency of refinancing review of science and technology enterprises, and support refinancing projects that raise funds for R&D investment, which will provide strong financial support for science and technology enterprises to break through key core technologies.
02
Set up a "green channel" for hard technology
The "Eight Articles of the Science and Technology Innovation Board" proposes to establish and improve the "green channel" for stock and debt financing, mergers and acquisitions and restructuring of hard technology enterprises that carry out key core technology research. Tian Lihui, dean of the Institute of Financial Development of Nankai University, told the China Economic Times that the establishment and improvement of the "green channel" for stock and debt financing, mergers and acquisitions of hard technology enterprises requires the establishment of a fast approval channel, simplifying the approval process, shortening the approval time, and improving financing efficiency. Strict information disclosure requirements need to be put in place to ensure that investors are fully aware of the company's technological strength, R&D progress and market prospects. This requires the establishment of a professional service team to provide financial advisory, legal advice and other professional services for hard technology enterprises. Through the capital market platform, we will promote the effective docking of hard technology enterprises and investors, and improve the success rate of financing and mergers and acquisitions. Governments and regulators can introduce incentives specifically for hard tech companies to reduce financing costs and boost M&A activity.
Ye Xiaojie suggested that the first is to introduce clear policy support to provide preferential policies and convenient conditions for hard technology enterprises. The second is to simplify the administrative approval procedures, improve the efficiency of the review, and shorten the waiting time of enterprises. Third, an evaluation team composed of industry experts and financial professionals will conduct an accurate assessment of hard technology enterprises. Fourth, strengthen the supervision of information disclosure, requiring enterprises to truthfully and fully disclose relevant information to ensure investors' right to know.
03
Explore the identification of "asset-light and high R&D investment".
Regarding the exploration and establishment of "asset-light, high R&D investment" identification standards proposed in the "Eight Articles of the Science and Technology Innovation Board", Tian Lihui believes that it should be based on multi-dimensional indicators such as the asset structure, R&D investment ratio, R&D achievements and market prospects of enterprises to ensure that the standards can not only reflect the R&D strength of enterprises, but also prevent potential market risks.
In Ye Xiaojie's view, the identification standard of "light assets and high R&D investment" can be established from multiple dimensions. Among them, the proportion of R&D investment: You can set a threshold for the proportion of R&D investment in operating income in a certain period of time (such as the past three years). Number of patents and intellectual property rights: The number of patents owned by the enterprise and the intellectual property protection of core technologies can be considered, and can be appropriately improved on the basis of the existing evaluation criteria for scientific and technological innovation attributes. Proportion of R&D personnel: the proportion of personnel engaged in R&D work in the total number of employees in the enterprise. Technological advancement assessment: The leading degree of the company's technology in the industry is evaluated by professional institutions. Quality of R&D projects: Focus on evaluating the innovation, feasibility and market potential of R&D projects. Asset structure: The proportion of fixed assets in total assets of asset-light enterprises is low, and corresponding standards can be set.
Chen Yuheng, senior investment consultant of Jufeng Investment Advisor, told China Economic Times that the criteria for identifying "asset-light and high R&D investment" include but are not limited to four aspects: the proportion of R&D investment, such as exceeding the industry average or reaching a certain percentage; The proportion of R&D personnel in the company's total employees to reflect the company's emphasis on R&D; The company's R&D achievements, including the number of patents, technological breakthroughs, etc.; The collection and calculation of R&D expenditure is accurate and in line with the accounting standards for business enterprises.
04
Promote the pilot implementation of the issuance of refinancing shelves
The "Eight Articles of the Science and Technology Innovation Board" also proposes to promote the pilot cases of refinancing shelf issuance to take the lead in landing on the Science and Technology Innovation Board.
Tian Lihui pointed out that regulators can introduce relevant policies to encourage and guide eligible companies on the STAR Market to carry out refinancing shelf issuance. The approval process for refinancing shelf issuance can be simplified and optimized to improve the efficiency of issuance. However, there is a need to strengthen the information disclosure requirements to ensure that investors are fully aware of the relevant information about the refinancing shelf issuance. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen communication and coordination with all parties in the market to ensure that everyone has a clear understanding and expectation of the pilot issuance of refinancing shelves.
Chen Yuheng said that the U.S. capital market has a mature operation model for refinancing, including a shelf registration system, which allows companies to issue securities in installments according to market conditions within a certain period of time. Flexibly adjust the timing and scale of issuance according to market conditions to reduce market impact. At the same time, information disclosure requirements are strengthened to ensure that investors have access to sufficient information to make informed investment decisions. To promote the implementation of pilot cases of refinancing shelf issuance on the Science and Technology Innovation Board, it is necessary to establish and improve regulations and guidelines related to shelf issuance to ensure that there are clear operating procedures and regulatory frameworks. Educate market participants on the concept, advantages and operation of shelf issuance, and increase market acceptance. Select eligible companies listed on the STAR Market for piloting, and demonstrate the advantages and operation modes of shelf issuance through successful cases.
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Chief Producer丨Wang Hui and Che Haigang
Producer丨Li Piguang, Wang Yu, Liu Weimin
Editor-in-Chief丨Mao Jinghui Editor丨Chen Shuhan