On April 10, 2026, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) released guidelines to deepen the reform of the ChiNext board, aiming to better serve the development of new quality productive forces. The reform introduces systematic measures covering issuance and listing, financing and mergers and acquisitions, investment and trading, and continuous supervision. Key innovations include adding a fourth set of listing criteria, establishing a pre-review mechanism, and introducing a market maker system. These changes enhance the board's inclusivity for high-growth, yet unprofitable, innovative enterprises, marking a continued improvement in the capital market's institutional framework to support new quality productive forces. This is expected to guide more social capital towards new industries, new business models, and new technology sectors.
The guidelines emphasize both inclusivity in issuance and effectiveness in supervision, enhancing the capital market's institutional adaptability. On the issuance front, optimized standards broaden financing channels for unprofitable companies, while the pre-review mechanism focuses on protecting core technological security. Specifically, the new fourth set of listing criteria provides a pathway to listing for eligible, unprofitable innovative companies. Concurrently, an IPO pre-review mechanism is established to protect corporate technical information and trade secrets. A pilot program allows local governments to submit information on potential listing candidates for reference during the review process, though this is not a mandatory step. This arrangement leverages local governments' informational advantages while guarding against administrative interference.
In financing, M&A, and investment, two key reforms work in tandem to enhance market liquidity and guide long-term capital into the market. The guidelines introduce a shelf-offering system, allowing a one-time registration for multiple future issuances, optimizing simplified procedures for follow-on offerings, and supporting ChiNext-listed companies in absorbing and merging domestically listed companies that have been public for less than three years. Furthermore, the introduction of a market maker system on the ChiNext board enhances intrinsic market stability. Other measures include launching an ETF after-hours fixed-price trading mechanism, a real-time confirmation system for block trades, allowing fund investment advisors to allocate to ChiNext ETFs, and planning for the timely launch of a ChiNext stock index futures contract to enrich risk management tools.
Securities companies face dual opportunities of business expansion and capability restructuring. The fourth set of criteria broadens the source of investment banking projects, but the pre-review mechanism requires heightened attention to corporate information security and demands stronger industrial research capabilities. The shelf-offering system also pushes services towards a full-cycle陪伴 model rather than a one-time sponsorship. In trading businesses, the market maker system brings incremental revenue, but price volatility in unprofitable companies tests inventory management and risk pricing abilities. Meanwhile, regulators are further压实ing the "gatekeeper" responsibilities of intermediaries, requiring securities firms to strengthen continuous supervision and compliance risk controls for unprofitable listed companies.
The policy's core lies in balancing institutional inclusivity with the effectiveness of whole-chain supervision. The fourth set of listing criteria offers a differentiated path for innovative companies with high growth or high R&D investment, while the pre-review mechanism protects core technological secrets. Strict enforcement of evaluation standards for innovative growth companies on ChiNext, including special labeling for unprofitable firms and restrictions on pre-IPO share sales for three years, aims to prevent "listing with issues" and improper arbitrage.
The shelf-offering system allows flexible fundraising aligned with business needs but increases supervisory complexity regarding fund usage. The market maker system improves liquidity for small and mid-cap stocks but requires robust risk management due to higher volatility. The after-hours ETF trading mechanism meets the needs of cross-timezone capital allocation but may face liquidity challenges. Allowing fund advisors to allocate to ChiNext ETFs marks a significant expansion but requires adaptation between on-exchange and off-exchange account systems.
Stricter continuous supervision includes special identifiers ("U") for unprofitable companies and sales restrictions for major shareholders. Regulators are further压实ing the responsibilities of intermediaries like sponsors and accounting firms.
For the securities industry, investment banking sees new opportunities but demands higher professional capabilities in technology assessment and continuous client service. Market making and derivatives businesses offer growth but test risk control systems. Tighter compliance regulations may intensify industry consolidation.
Subsequent focus will be on the implementation effects, including the quality and approval rates of the first batch of applicants under the fourth standard, the operational norms of the local government referral mechanism, and the post-listing performance of unprofitable companies. Overall, the reform is well-directed and prudently designed, potentially enabling the ChiNext board to play a more significant role in serving technological innovation, industrial upgrading, and the development of the private economy, thereby injecting sustained capital power for cultivating new quality productive forces.
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