With State Council approval, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) issued policy opinions to deepen reform of the ChiNext market, positioning the board to better support high-growth, innovation-driven companies while tightening full‑process regulation from listing entry through ongoing supervision and exit. A central change is the introduction of a fourth set of ChiNext IPO listing criteria aimed at firms with high upfront investment and faster value inflection but relatively low initial revenue. The new standard combines expected market capitalisation and revenue with either a three‑year revenue compound annual growth rate or research and development (R&D) intensity: (i) expected market cap of at least CNY 3 billion, last‑year revenue of at least CNY 200 million, and three‑year revenue CAGR of at least 30%; or (ii) expected market cap of at least CNY 4 billion, last‑year revenue of at least CNY 200 million, and cumulative three‑year R&D spending of at least CNY 100 million with R&D at least 15% of revenue. For IPOs that are not yet profitable at listing, the CSRC set additional investor‑risk signalling and shareholder restraint measures, including adding a “U” marker to the stock abbreviation until profitability is achieved and restricting controlling shareholders, de facto controllers, directors and senior executives from selling pre‑IPO shares for three full fiscal years from listing. The package also pilots a mechanism for local governments to submit information on prospective ChiNext issuers to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange as a non-mandatory reference input to the review and registration process, and introduces changes across market functioning and corporate finance tools, including a ChiNext market-maker regime, real‑time confirmation for negotiated block trades, an after‑hours fixed‑price trading mechanism for ChiNext ETFs, expansion of ChiNext-related indices, ETFs and options, and a pathway to introduce ChiNext stock index futures when appropriate. On the issuer side, reforms include enabling a shelf-style refinancing framework with “one registration, multiple issuances”, streamlining simplified refinancing procedures, supporting M&A activity including absorption mergers of domestic listed companies listed for less than three years, and allowing more flexible performance metrics for equity incentive plans at well-governed, innovation-capable ChiNext issuers. The CSRC indicated it will accelerate rulemaking and amendments to implement the reforms, organise policy and operational training for market participants and local authorities to start the information-submission pilot, expand investor education and risk disclosure, and track implementation through ongoing evaluation and issuer outreach.
China Securities Regulatory Commission 2026-04-10
China Securities Regulatory Commission deepens ChiNext reform with a new fourth listing standard and market-maker trading measures
The China Securities Regulatory Commission, with State Council approval, issued opinions to deepen ChiNext reform to better support high‑growth, innovation‑driven companies while tightening regulation from listing through exit. Measures include a new IPO standard for high‑investment, lower‑revenue firms, stronger risk signalling and lock‑ups for unprofitable IPOs, a pilot for local government information submissions, expanded trading and derivatives tools, and more flexible refinancing, M&A and equity incentive rules. The CSRC will accelerate rulemaking, training, investor education and implementation monitoring.