The Growth Enterprise Market explicitly supports innovative and entrepreneurial companies. Shenzhen market representatives and committee members bring the latest insights.

Caixin March 8 News (Reporter Lin Jian)
CSRC Chairman Wu Qing clarified at an economic press conference on March 6 that the overall plan for deepening the GEM reform has basically taken shape, with plans to add more precise and inclusive listing standards, focusing on supporting innovative and entrepreneurial companies in new industries, new business models, new technologies, as well as new consumption and modern service sectors.

Caixin’s review of opinions from several national two sessions representatives and committee members from listed companies on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange shows that the GEM and the main board of Shenzhen have become important capital hubs for corporate technological innovation, providing stable support in areas such as capital supply, resource integration, governance standards, and ecological collaboration. They believe that with the advancement of reforms, the cycle of technology, capital, and the real economy will become smoother, and the cultivation of new productive forces will be better supported by institutional guarantees.

As the GEM reform plan is about to be implemented, arrangements such as establishing more inclusive listing standards and replicating the experience of the STAR Market reform have excited many tech and innovative companies. Several representatives and committee members believe that the reform will further improve institutional adaptability, cover more innovative enterprises, and provide capital support for different tracks and stages of development. For listed companies, the reform will optimize mechanisms such as refinancing, mergers and acquisitions, and equity incentives, further reducing innovation costs and improving resource allocation efficiency.

Wu Qing also mentioned that efforts will be made to comprehensively improve the quality of GEM-listed companies, better serve local economic development and private sector growth. Representatives and committee members generally stated that they will continue to rely on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s capital market platform, increase efforts in core technology breakthroughs, promote the transformation of innovative achievements, and contribute to high-level technological self-reliance and strength during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.

Why is long-term R&D investment guaranteed?
Technological innovation involves large investments, long cycles, and high risks. Stable funding is essential for companies to sustain their research efforts. Several two sessions representatives and committee members said that listing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s capital market has solved the funding pain points for R&D investments, making long-term innovation possible.

Kong Lingyong, Chairman of Dof Nano, said that the development of underlying materials involves high risk and large scope, often constrained by funding before listing. After listing on the GEM, the company was able to direct raised funds toward capacity expansion, research institute construction, and frontier technology reserves, enabling rapid implementation of major projects like lithium manganese iron phosphate.

Representatives such as Yao Lijun of Jiangfeng Electronics, Yan Dapeng of Raycus Laser, Wu Fenglai of Tusda, mentioned that listing provides diversified financing channels, with funds directly used for core technology research and capacity expansion, ensuring continuous R&D investment. Zhou Qunfei of Lens Technology noted that since listing, the company has invested over 20 billion yuan in R&D, maintaining an R&D ratio of about 5%, with the capital market providing a solid foundation for sustained investment.

Jiang Lingfeng of Zhifei Biologicals revealed that the company has invested nearly 6 billion yuan in R&D in recent years, building three major research and production bases and innovation incubation centers through financing on the platform, with several global innovative vaccines entering critical clinical stages. Ding Shiqi of Tongling Nonferrous Metals stated that since the 14th Five-Year Plan, the company has invested 20.3 billion yuan in R&D, and the direct financing channels from listing have supported continuous growth in R&D investment.

From consumer and agricultural companies’ perspectives, Zheng Simin of Deli Foods and Chen Nan of Sanquan Food said that financing through listing supports product innovation and upgrades in intelligent manufacturing equipment, promoting traditional food companies toward digitalization and intelligent transformation. Liu Yonghao of New Hope stated that with the help of the capital market, the company’s genome breeding, AI large models, and other technologies have been rapidly implemented, with several achievements receiving national science and technology awards.

How is the innovation ecosystem being fully integrated?
Listing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange not only provides capital support but also helps companies connect with high-end innovation resources, promote deep integration of industry, academia, and research, and accelerate the transition of technologies from laboratories to production lines.

Liu Qingfeng of iFlytek said that the Shenzhen Stock Exchange has built a high-quality industrial ecosystem, helping companies connect with top scientific research resources. The “same-day submission and acceptance” review process for refinancing accelerates the development of autonomous and controllable AI technologies. The exchange also promotes international promotion activities to enhance the company’s brand influence in overseas markets.

Zheng Simin of Deli Foods mentioned that the status of being a listed company enhances industry influence, promotes deeper cooperation with institutions like the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and significantly improves the efficiency of technological industrialization. Yu Ziwen of Xiangjia Co., Ltd. and Liu Yonghao of New Hope both said that the listing platform helps companies establish stable cooperation mechanisms with universities, leading to rapid breakthroughs in technologies like biological breeding and gene chips.

Ding Shiqi of Tongling Nonferrous Metals introduced that after listing, cooperation with universities and research institutes has become smoother. During the 14th Five-Year Plan, the company was granted 318 invention patents, with many technologies reaching international advanced levels. Shao Zengming of Liangli Diamond said that GEM policies reduce R&D and financing costs, helping companies overcome “bottleneck” technologies and lead in super-hard materials.

Ding Lieming of Betta Pharmaceuticals and Yuan Yuyu of Maipu Medical said that the listing platform enhances trust with domestic and international partners, promoting innovative drugs and high-end medical devices to break import monopolies and accelerate product globalization and international deployment.

Why is systemic innovation capacity being strengthened?
Strict regulation and institutional arrangements in the capital market compel companies to improve governance structures. At the same time, mechanisms such as equity incentives and talent cultivation stimulate innovation teams, building systemic innovation capabilities.

Kong Lingyong of Dof Nano said that after listing, the company established standardized governance, optimized R&D management and results transformation processes, and used multi-stage equity incentives to bind core technical personnel, attracting, retaining, and effectively utilizing talent. Zhou Qunfei of Lens Technology mentioned that listing has driven the company to improve R&D management and intellectual property protection systems, building a team of 24,000 R&D personnel, continuously strengthening its innovation foundation.

Liu Qingfeng of iFlytek and Wu Fenglai of Tusda both said that the platform of a listed company makes it easier to attract high-end R&D talent, and equity incentives effectively stimulate team innovation vitality. Ding Shiqi of Tongling Nonferrous Metals introduced that the company has issued over 4.6 million yuan in innovation incentives in the past three years, with the number of talent teams and innovative achievements growing in tandem.

Ma Xuepei of Tianyi Ma and Wang Jing of New Continent said that the regulatory requirements brought by listing promote more transparent and efficient R&D investment management, making technological innovation more closely aligned with market needs. Wu Cheng of Guocheng Mining and Yao Jinlong of Meijin Energy said that listing promotes governance upgrades, providing institutional guarantees for innovations like green mining and full-chain hydrogen energy autonomy.

Chen Nan of Sanquan Food and Zhang Ronghua of Haowu Co., Ltd. said that supervision by the capital market promotes standardized management, accelerating digital and intelligent transformation, and significantly improving the efficiency and competitiveness of traditional industries.