Market speculation is growing regarding the proposed addition of a "fourth set of standards" to the ChiNext board, designed to support listings for new consumer sectors and modern service industries. A key point of interest is whether this will significantly increase the likelihood of new consumer companies, which previously chose to list in Hong Kong, returning to the ChiNext market in the future.
On March 6, China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) Chairman Wu Qing proposed that the ChiNext board introduce a more precise and inclusive set of listing standards. This initiative aims to bolster support for the development of new industries, new business forms, and new technology companies, specifically facilitating listings for high-quality innovative and entrepreneurial firms in sectors like new consumption and modern services. This indicates a shift in the ChiNext board's service focus from primarily nurturing mature companies to encompassing a broader range of new economic sectors.
Institutional analysis points out that ChiNext's current listing standards overall still lean towards growth enterprises that already possess certain profitability or revenue scale, as they are primarily based on revenue or profit metrics. Compared to the STAR Market's second, third, and fifth sets of standards, which focus on core indicators like R&D investment, cash flow, and staged technological achievements, ChiNext's system appears slightly less accommodating. Although its positioning rules already cover modern services and the digital economy, and allow traditional industries deeply integrated with new technologies to apply, the existing financial criteria are generally more suitable for advanced manufacturing, hard-tech companies, or profitable growth enterprises. They remain less adapted for typical new consumer formats such as new tea drinks, trendy toys, pet economy, community retail, beauty and personal care, and domestic fashion brands.
Tian Lihui, Dean of the Institute of Financial Development at Nankai University, interprets the core of this new standard as a shift from a "price-to-earnings ratio mindset" to a "value discovery mindset." By introducing mechanisms such as third-party expert assessments and market-validated data, it aims to achieve a more accurate evaluation of a company's true value.
What are the key points of interest regarding ChiNext's "fourth set of standards"?
To date, the ChiNext board has established three differentiated listing standards. The core differences lie in the combination of profitability requirements, market capitalization thresholds, and revenue thresholds, forming a tiered system that covers different stages of corporate development.
Standard One is profit-oriented, requiring positive net profits for the two most recent years with a cumulative total of no less than 100 million yuan, and a net profit of no less than 60 million yuan for the most recent year. Standard Two adopts a "market cap + profit + revenue" combination, requiring an estimated market capitalization of no less than 1.5 billion yuan, a positive net profit for the most recent year, and revenue for the most recent year of no less than 400 million yuan. Standard Three further relaxes profitability requirements, stipulating only an estimated market capitalization of no less than 5 billion yuan and revenue for the most recent year of no less than 300 million yuan, primarily targeting hard-tech companies that may not yet be profitable but possess core technological barriers.
It is evident that the existing three standards primarily serve the hard-tech sector or companies with mature profitability. The introduction of the fourth set of standards is expected to break this limitation, specifically addressing the gap in listing channels for new consumption and modern service industries. Its core positioning likely involves using "precise indicators + non-financial assessments + institutional inclusivity" to enable the capital market to more accurately serve new quality productive forces.
Synthesizing current market views, there are three anticipated directions for the indicator design of the "fourth set of standards." First, it may establish a combination of "estimated market capitalization + revenue + cash flow," focusing on net operating cash flow rather than relying solely on net profit. Second, it is more likely to emphasize attributes like "new-type" and "modern," introducing non-financial indicators such as digital capabilities, innovative business models, data assets, brand barriers, and industry compliance as potential assessment factors, distinguishing them from the heavy-asset, low-innovation characteristics of traditional consumer/service industries. Third, the market capitalization and revenue thresholds for the fourth standard might also be appropriately optimized.
What are the prevailing conjectures about the "fourth set of standards"? Two potential versions offer insights.
As a potentially disruptive systemic upgrade since the registration-based reform, the proposal to add a fourth set of listing standards to the ChiNext board has sparked much market speculation. Industry views suggest that the new ChiNext standards are expected to expand the A-share secondary board's support framework to encompass "diversified new quality productive forces," bringing institutional benefits to the new consumption and modern services sectors.
Research from BOC Securities indicates that this is not merely a relaxation of thresholds but an effort to expand ChiNext's coverage from focusing on "advanced manufacturing + technological growth" to include "diversified new quality productive forces." The possible reform paths for ChiNext's "fourth" standard mainly include the following two versions:
Version One: Introduce a稳健型 (steady-type) standard based on "market capitalization + revenue + cash flow." This standard primarily targets chain consumer and branded service companies that have achieved scaled revenue and possess mature business models but may experience short-term profit fluctuations due to marketing investments or offline expansion. By examining net operating cash flow, it can filter out risks associated with expansion reliant on financing, selecting industry leaders with genuine self-sustaining capabilities.
Version Two: Construct a成长型 (growth-type) standard based on "market capitalization + financial growth + non-financial innovation." This standard aims to adapt to rapidly expanding new consumer enterprises. Referencing the refined logic of the STAR Market's fifth standard, it could set four-dimensional screening conditions: industry attributes limited to "三创四新" (three creations, four new) fields like digital consumption and smart supply chains; staged achievement requirements, such as annual GMV no less than 5 billion yuan for platform companies or core product annual sales no less than 1 billion yuan for brand companies; core indicators requiring a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of revenue over the past three years of no less than 30%, a platform user repurchase rate exceeding 40%, or brand inventory turnover significantly better than the industry average; industry position requiring a market share of no less than 5% in the segment and a valuation from the most recent financing round exceeding 3 billion yuan; and international influence requiring overseas revenue contribution of no less than 30%, targeting new consumer leaders like Pop Mart that have achieved global layout.
Industry predictions suggest that if the fourth set of standards ultimately materializes in the direction of "market capitalization + revenue + cash flow" or "market capitalization + revenue + growth quality," the feasibility for new consumer companies that previously opted for Hong Kong listings to return to the A-share ChiNext board in the future is expected to increase significantly. Sectors such as new tea drinks, smart trendy toys, pet economy, branded retail, community retail, digital content consumption, consumer healthcare services, domestic trend brands, and consumer platform companies with digital supply chain capabilities—those characterized by "consumer attributes + technological enablement + scalable replication"—are likely to benefit notably.
It is noteworthy that this ChiNext reform is also expected to further boost overall liquidity and valuation recovery in the consumer sector, increasing capital's focus on consumer stocks. Integrating various industry perspectives, service consumption and new consumption are poised to experience a new resonance of demand, becoming core implementation directions in the consumer field by 2026.
On one hand, the service consumption sector is seeing a convergence of policy support and new industry demands. As ChiNext reform deepens and listing channels broaden further, related high-quality enterprises will gain more capital empowerment, potentially leading to inflection point breakthroughs in industry development, which aligns highly with the current capital market's orientation of precisely serving modern service industries. On the other hand, the new consumption赛道 (track) possesses long-term demand logic, and industry prosperity is expected to remain sustained. More critically, leading companies in new consumer sub-sectors like trendy toys, tea drinks, fashionable gold jewelry, and health supplements currently have relatively low valuations and still possess ample growth elasticity for 2026.
Will more consumer companies return to ChiNext after many rushed to file for Hong Kong IPOs this year?
Reviewing the listing process for consumer companies in A-shares, progress halted after the "8/27" new policy in 2023. Subsequently, many high-quality consumer companies, including Mixue Bingcheng, Maogeping, and Lao Xiang Ji, chose to establish red chip or VIE structures to list in Hong Kong. In 2026, the Hong Kong market also witnessed a wave of activity in the consumer sector, with companies like Yuan Ji Yun Jiao, Qian Da Ma, Lao Xiang Ji, and Ming Ming Hen Mang rushing to break through in Hong Kong.
Industry insiders point out that in this wave of Hong Kong IPOs, the momentum from technology innovation and consumer companies is particularly strong. Some new consumer projects set records for locked-up funds upon listing and received enthusiastic market追捧 (chase) afterward. "The ability of some new consumer companies to list in Hong Kong also reflects changes in the overall consumer psychology of the era," analyzed an insider, citing factors like emotional value and the economics of loneliness as drivers.
In terms of the number of consumer companies currently listed in Hong Kong, discretionary consumer companies (e.g., automobiles, home appliances, textiles/apparel, durable consumer goods) outnumber staple consumer companies (e.g., food & beverage, household products). Wind data shows that using the "8/27" 2023 policy as a dividing line, 20 discretionary consumer companies and 13 staple consumer companies have listed in Hong Kong since then.
The 2026 Hong Kong listing wave is being led by the consumer sector. On January 28, snack company Ming Ming Hen Mang successfully listed. Companies like Dongpeng Beverage and Muyuan Foods also listed in early February, with Dongpeng Beverage's nearly HKD 10 billion fundraising making it one of the larger IPO cases in the Asian consumer beverage industry in recent years.
Wind data indicates that a total of 21 consumer companies are currently冲刺 (sprinting towards) a Hong Kong listing. Once ChiNext's fourth set of standards is officially implemented, will more consumer companies planning to go to Hong Kong reconsider and return to ChiNext?
Relevant intermediary analysts suggest that, drawing lessons from the STAR Market experience, not all consumer companies may qualify for A-share listings. They might still need to align with the positioning of "high-quality innovation and entrepreneurship" and possess "modern" and "new-type" characteristics. Currently, the overall reform plan is still taking shape, and the specific definitions and boundaries of "new consumption" and "modern services" remain to be clarified. While the door to A-shares is reopening, the market is unlikely to pay for mere "scale stories" anymore.
The aforementioned analysts believe that for both new consumption and modern services, listing is not the end goal; companies must ultimately return to commercial fundamentals.
Comments