By LI Linxu

As sci-tech innovation becomes ever more crucial in driving new quality productive forces, China's capital market plays an increasingly more important role in facilitating tech enterprises' access to financing.

The country vows to further strengthen the role of stock markets, the New Third Board, and the regional equity markets in serving sci-tech innovation, while enhancing policy support for tech firms with cross-boarder financing, as per a recent working plan jointly released by seven government bodies, including the People's Bank of China and the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange. (PHOTO: VCG)

In recent years, tech companies have logged a stellar performance in the country's capital market, pooling financial resources in their innovation push.

According to a recently released IPO report by Ernst & Young, hard-tech companies remain the mainstay of the country's IPOs. In the first half of 2024, China's leading IPOs went to hard-tech industries, with industrial, technological and material sectors taking the top three spots. In terms of the number of IPO deals and the amount of IPO proceeds, these top three sectors accounted for 89 percent and 88 percent of the total respectively.

For specialized and sophisticated enterprises that produce novel and unique products, their IPO numbers and proceeds held 48 percent and 33 percent of the total respectively in the first half this year, both registering a year-over-year growth, as per the report. The number of such companies amounted to 73 percent of the listed companies in the Chinext, China's NASDAQ-style board.

In the latter half of the year, companies with key technologies will continue to be the mainstay of IPOs in China's A-share market, Li Kang, TMT sector co-leader of Ernst & Young Greater China, told Science and Technology Daily, adding that with a series of targeted policies being rolled out, eligible high-quality enterprises with strong technological innovation capabilities are expected to receive more financing from the capital market.

Boosted by various forms of financing support, the listed companies are better positioned to invest in R&D, innovation, and the transformation of sci-tech achievements.

Statistics show that the listed companies have become one of the leading contenders for the country's top sci-tech prizes.

At this year's National Science and Technology Award Conference, more than 100 listed enterprises have made their mark on the prize list.

Their innovation covers a wide range of fields, such as electronic information, advanced manufacturing, and health and medicine, demonstrating a virtuous cycle between the capital market and sci-tech innovation.