On April 24th, the China Securities Regulatory Commission officially promulgated the "Regulatory Rules for Listed Company Board Secretaries," explicitly prohibiting board secretaries from concurrently holding positions such as general manager, deputy manager in charge of business operations, or financial controller. These new regulations are set to take effect on May 24, 2026.
As the "primary responsible person" for standard operations, the "chief spokesperson" for capital market communication, and the "core hub" for investor relations management, the compensation levels, industry distribution, and changing trends for board secretaries have become a key barometer for observing the quality of corporate governance in A-shares, industrial prosperity cycles, and the revaluation of talent value.
The year 2025, being the last full observation year before the new rules take effect, offers a comprehensive view of board secretary compensation across A-share listed companies that is of significant interest to the capital market. Research data indicates that as of December 31, 2025, there were a total of 5,515 A-share listed companies. The total compensation for board secretaries in 2025 reached 4.126 billion yuan, with an average salary of 776,300 yuan, showing a steady increase from 748,300 yuan in 2024. Among them, 1,205 board secretaries earned an annual salary exceeding one million yuan, an increase of 97 from 1,108 in 2024. The proportion of board secretaries with million-yuan salaries rose from 20.09% to 21.85%, an increase of 1.76 percentage points, indicating continued growth in this high-earning cohort.
**Top Earners: Huali Industrial Group's Board Secretary Leads with Salary Approaching Ten Million** An analysis of the high-salary rankings for A-share board secretaries reveals that among the 5,515 listed companies disclosing compensation, three high-growth sectors—pharmaceuticals & biotechnology (medical devices, chemical pharmaceuticals), electronics (semiconductors, components), and passenger vehicles—accounted for eight of the top ten spots. Traditional finance and real estate firms have exited the top tier, with sectoral growth and professional role value emerging as the core drivers of high compensation for board secretaries.
The top position was secured by Huali Industrial Group Company Limited (300979.SZ). The company's Chairman and concurrently acting Board Secretary, Zhang Congyuan, topped the A-share board secretary compensation list with an annual salary of 9.2805 million yuan, representing one of the rare cases in the entire market where compensation neared the ten-million-yuan threshold. However, this compensation has a specific context: according to company announcements, the former board secretary, Fang Lingling, resigned for personal reasons in December 2025, and Chairman Zhang Congyuan subsequently took over the board secretary duties. As a textile manufacturing enterprise listed on the ChiNext board, Huali Industrial Group achieved revenue of 24.98 billion yuan in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 4.06%. Affected by industry cyclical fluctuations and operating cost pressures, its net profit attributable to the parent company declined to 3.207 billion yuan, down 16.50% year-on-year.
The second place on the list belongs to Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co.,Ltd. (300760.SZ). The company's Board Secretary, Li Wenmei, received a 2025 compensation of 6.5605 million yuan, an 11.20% decrease from 7.3876 million yuan in 2024. Li Wenmei had ranked first in A-share board secretary compensation in 2024. Excluding the special case of Huali's chairman serving concurrently, she still holds the top position for full-time board secretaries in 2025. From a performance perspective, Mindray Medical reported revenue of 33.282 billion yuan and a net profit attributable to the parent company of 8.136 billion yuan in 2025, down 9.38% and 30.28% year-on-year, respectively. The performance pressure directly led to a reduction in the board secretary's compensation, demonstrating a typical pattern of compensation adjustment in line with company performance and reflecting a phase of declining overall prosperity in the medical device industry.
The third place was taken by Jiang Yueheng, Board Secretary of the STAR Market innovative drug company Inventisbio Co.,Ltd. (688382.SH), with a 2025 compensation of 6.1496 million yuan. The company remained unprofitable in 2025, with a net loss attributable to the parent company of 317 million yuan, a 31.92% year-on-year increase in losses. On the STAR Market, it is not uncommon for many unprofitable biopharmaceutical companies to offer compensation premiums for board secretary positions due to high R&D barriers, frequent capital operations, and stringent compliance governance requirements.
Other companies in the top ten include Biwin Storage Technology Co.,Ltd. (688525.SH) in the semiconductor sector, PCB leader Shengyi Technology Co.,Ltd. (600183.SH), technology manufacturing giant Tcl Technology Group Corporation (000100.SZ), cybersecurity leader 360 Security Technology Inc. (601360.SH), new energy vehicle leader Byd Company Limited (002594.SZ), and innovative drug company Dizal Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd. (688192.SH), all of which are influential benchmark enterprises in their respective sectors.
Among them, the compensation change for Biwin Storage's Board Secretary, Huang Yanfeng, is particularly representative. His 2025 compensation saw a leap, soaring from 1.0612 million yuan in 2024 to 6.0129 million yuan, an increase of 466.61%, making it the most elastic case among the top ten earners. In 2025, the memory chip industry experienced a comprehensive upturn in prosperity. The company fully benefited from this sectoral growth, with net profit surging 429.07% year-on-year. This explosive performance growth directly drove the board secretary's compensation higher.
Shengyi Technology and another company, L.Y. Information, also exhibited the characteristic of simultaneous high growth in both performance and compensation. The net profit attributable to the parent company of these two enterprises increased significantly by 91.75% and 74.69% year-on-year in 2025, respectively, leading to substantial rises in their board secretaries' compensation. This confirms the market-driven pricing logic in A-share listed companies where executive compensation is deeply tied to operating performance.
From a role perspective, many listed company board secretaries also concurrently hold senior executive positions such as deputy general manager or financial controller, creating a compensation-boosting effect from holding multiple roles. However, with the implementation of the new board secretary regulations in 2026, which explicitly prohibit board secretaries from concurrently serving as general manager, deputy manager in charge of business operations, or financial controller, the model of "one person, multiple roles, multiple salaries" will gradually fade out. In the future, the high-salary cohort of A-share board secretaries will increasingly be dominated by full-time, professional, and experienced talent. Compensation pricing will also truly return to the core value of the role in information disclosure, investor relations management, and corporate governance.
**Significant Industry Divergence: Semiconductors Surge, Finance Cools, Real Estate Lingers** From an industry perspective, A-share board secretary compensation in 2025 presented a distinct pattern of tiering and differentiation. Hard technology sectors led strongly, the financial sector stabilized with a pullback, pharmaceuticals & biotechnology operated steadily, and the real estate industry lingered at low levels. The industry prosperity cycle, regulatory policy direction, density of capital operations, and difficulty of compliance management in different sectors have become the core variables determining board secretary compensation levels.
Looking at Shenwan secondary industries, semiconductors, as a core hard technology sector, showed particularly outstanding performance in board secretary compensation. Among 177 companies in this sector, the median compensation for board secretaries in 2025 was 891,200 yuan, a significant increase of 133,300 yuan from 757,900 yuan in 2024, representing a 17.59% year-on-year growth. Among them, Biwin Storage's Board Secretary Huang Yanfeng had the highest compensation at 6.0129 million yuan. Notably, 78 board secretaries in this industry, or 44.07%, earned over one million yuan annually, meaning nearly half of the companies offered million-yuan salaries to their board secretaries. Behind this impressive data lie the core characteristics of the semiconductor industry: capital intensity, rapid technological iteration, high compliance disclosure requirements, and frequent cross-border capital operations. Coupled with the continuous acceleration of domestic substitution, listed companies' demand for professional board secretaries with capabilities in capital market operations, compliance risk control, and investor relations management has surged, directly pushing up the overall compensation level in the industry.
In contrast to the strong growth in semiconductors, the financial sector (including banking and non-bank finance) exhibited a trend of "strictly controlling high salaries and rational pullback." Among 124 listed financial enterprises, influenced by regulatory policies aimed at curbing high salaries and standardizing compensation distribution within the financial industry, the overall compensation level saw a noticeable decline. In 2025, the median compensation for board secretaries in the financial industry was 1.0067 million yuan, down 64,600 yuan from 1.0713 million yuan in 2024. Even after this adjustment, the overall compensation level for financial industry board secretaries remains firmly in the first tier of the A-share market. Among them, China Merchants Bank Co.,Ltd. (600036.SH) Board Secretary Peng Jiawen ranked first in the industry with compensation of 2.826 million yuan. In terms of high-salary penetration, 62 board secretaries in the financial industry, or 50%, earned over one million yuan annually. The coverage of million-yuan salaries continues to lead among all market sectors. The inherent industry attributes of strong regulation and high compliance remain the core logic supporting high compensation for financial board secretaries.
The pharmaceuticals & biotechnology industry, as a core sector balancing public welfare and technological innovation, maintained a steady and slightly rising trend in board secretary compensation. Among 504 listed companies across the entire industry (covering six sub-sectors: medical devices, chemical pharmaceuticals, biological products, traditional Chinese medicine, medical services, and pharmaceutical commerce), the median compensation for board secretaries in 2025 was 664,600 yuan, a slight increase from 650,100 yuan in 2024, indicating an overall stable trend. Within this group, 134 board secretaries earned million-yuan salaries, accounting for 26.59%. Mindray Medical's Board Secretary Li Wenmei, with compensation of 6.5605 million yuan, firmly holds the top position in the industry.
Looking at sub-sectors, the chemical pharmaceuticals segment, which gathers a large number of innovative drug companies, exhibits compensation characteristics more representative of the industry. Among 158 chemical pharmaceutical companies, the median compensation for board secretaries in 2025 was 597,400 yuan, a slight decrease from 607,400 yuan in 2024. Among them, 41 board secretaries earned million-yuan salaries, accounting for 25.94%. Inventisbio's Board Secretary Jiang Yueheng, with compensation of 6.1496 million yuan, ranks first in the sub-sector. Innovative drug companies generally feature long R&D cycles, significant capital investment, complex compliance disclosures, and frequent investment and financing activities. Even with short-term performance fluctuations in the industry, they can still offer competitive compensation levels to professional board secretaries.
As a representative of traditional cyclical industries, the real estate sector continued its trend of slight decline and low-level operation in board secretary compensation. Among 99 listed real estate companies, the median compensation for board secretaries in 2025 was 627,300 yuan, slightly down from 638,600 yuan in 2024. Only 19 board secretaries, or 19.19%, earned over one million yuan, indicating a relatively low high-salary penetration rate. Among them, China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park Development Group Co.,Ltd. (601512.SH) Board Secretary Lu Haisu had the highest compensation at 3.01 million yuan. The real estate industry is currently still in a deep adjustment cycle, with companies facing cash flow pressure and reduced demand for capital operations. This directly results in board secretary compensation levels and high-salary penetration rates being significantly lower than those in high-growth, high-compliance sectors like semiconductors, finance, and pharmaceuticals & biotechnology.
**Core Perspective: Industrial Upgrading Anchors Compensation, New Rules Herald Professionalization** The case of Biwin Storage, where performance doubled alongside a sharp rise in board secretary compensation, and that of Mindray Medical, where operating pressure was accompanied by a synchronous decline in compensation, clearly outline the market规律 where executive pay is deeply tied to company performance and role functionality. The strong leading gains in semiconductors, the rational cooling in finance, the steady performance in pharmaceuticals & biotechnology, and the low-level蛰伏 in real estate—the industry divergence in board secretary compensation profoundly reflects the broader industrial trend of China's economy accelerating its transition from traditional cyclical sectors towards hard technology sectors.
With the formal implementation of the new board secretary regulations in May of this year, nearly a thousand listed companies will bid farewell to the traditional model of "one person, multiple roles, part-time compensation." The board secretary role is undergoing a deep-seated transformation towards full-time, professional, and independent status. Looking ahead, high compensation for board secretaries will no longer rely on additional benefits from role叠加 but will truly stem from core professional value in information disclosure, compliance risk control, capital operations, and investor relations management. The hierarchical differentiation in industry compensation will also no longer be a short-term reflection of industry cyclical波动 but an inevitable outcome of the long-term共振 between technological innovation iteration, industrial structure upgrading, and regulatory system standardization.
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