The first stock on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board (STAR Market) to be delisted under the market value criterion has emerged.
October 27 marks the last trading day of Yuandao's delisting arrangement period. According to the company's announcement, on the first trading day after the expiration of the delisting arrangement period, that is, October 28, 2026, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange will delist the company and terminate its listing. This communication service provider, which once landed on the ChiNext board, has constituted fraudulent issuance due to false records in the disclosure documents of its initial public offering, touching the red line of mandatory delisting for major illegal acts, drawing a full stop to a capital story of packaged listing.
Wind data shows that as of late October this year, 27 listed companies on the A-share market have completed delisting or locked in delisting within the year, with financial, major illegal, transaction-based and voluntary delisting channels operating simultaneously. Under the test of the 300 million yuan market capitalization red line, *ST Zhuoran has locked in the transaction-based mandatory delisting in advance, and may become the first company delisted due to market capitalization on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board. As for *ST Qingyue, its closing price has been lower than 1 yuan for 20 consecutive trading days, touching the par value delisting rule. It has been suspended from trading since September 11, 2026, and the delisting process is basically locked.
Under the registration-based system, the diversified delisting mechanism of the A-share market has matured, and market capitalization delisting has become a new and important clearance tool, while Sci-Tech Innovation Board enterprises also strictly abide by the delisting bottom line. While low-quality companies are being cleared out at an accelerated pace, investor protection arrangements such as advance compensation are also being promoted simultaneously, continuously consolidating the market ecology of the registration-based system that allows both entry and exit, and the survival of the fittest.
*ST Zhuoran and *ST Qingyue: Delisting Warnings Under the Sci-Tech Innovation Halo
In addition, the two Sci-Tech Innovation Board listed enterprises *ST Zhuoran and *ST Qingyue have attracted special attention from the market, representing a new signal that transaction-based delisting has extended to the hard technology sector. Both of them had impressive sci-tech innovation stories at the time of listing, with different fundraising plans and market positioning, but now they are both on the verge of delisting, becoming highly warning cases under the registration-based system.
*ST Zhuoran, which landed on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board on September 6, 2021, had an issuance price of 18.16 yuan and had not been marked with ST warnings at that time. The market was highly enthusiastic at the time of its listing, with its share price doubling on the first day of trading, and its peak market capitalization was close to 8.5 billion yuan. In April 2023, the announcement of a 6.936 billion yuan project order from Zhenhua Petroleum once made it a popular target in the petrochemical equipment track, and the outside world was optimistic about its continuous growth following the domestic refining and chemical capacity expansion cycle.
The reversal of the story came very quickly, and now it is facing multiple delisting risks.
On the evening of October 26, *ST Zhuoran announced that as of the close of trading on October 26, the company's share price was 0.40 yuan, with a total market capitalization of 93.45 million yuan; its closing market capitalization has been lower than 300 million yuan for 18 consecutive trading days, and its closing price has been lower than 1 yuan for 11 consecutive trading days. Even if it hits the daily 10% up limit for the following 2 trading days, it cannot reverse the result that the market capitalization will be lower than 300 million yuan for 20 consecutive days, which will trigger the transaction-based mandatory delisting.
At the same time, the company is suspected of making false records in its annual reports from 2021 to 2024. On September 11, it received the "Preliminary Notice of Administrative Penalty" from the Shanghai Securities Regulatory Bureau, which intends to determine that it has committed major information disclosure violations. The proposed penalty plan includes a fine of 12.5 million yuan on the company, a total fine of 35.8 million yuan on 6 responsible persons, and a 10-year market ban on the actual controller. Once the official penalty is implemented and it is determined that the company has touched the major illegal provisions, the company will trigger the mandatory delisting for major illegal acts. In accordance with the rule of "the first triggered, the first applied", it will most likely be delisted through the market capitalization delisting path first, and may become the first company delisted due to market capitalization on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board. It is worth mentioning that there is no delisting arrangement period for transaction-based delisting on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board.
As for *ST Qingyue, it landed on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board in December 2022 with an issuance price of 9.16 yuan. This company, with the title of "Specialized, Refined, Differential and Innovative" enterprise, mainly focuses on PMOLED, e-paper and silicon-based OLED micro-displays. In the early years, its PMOLED shipment volume ranked among the top in the world, and its products cover wearable devices, industrial control and medical displays.
Under the glamorous sci-tech innovation narrative, the financial problems in the IPO stage surfaced. The company was first given other risk warnings due to negative internal control opinions, and then was filed for investigation due to fraudulent issuance, superimposed with delisting risk warnings, and its abbreviation was changed to *ST Qingyue. As the investigation progressed and the fraud facts were confirmed, the share price kept falling, and the closing price was lower than 1 yuan for 20 consecutive trading days, triggering the par value delisting condition. The company's shares have been suspended from trading since September 11, 2026, and it has received the "Preliminary Notice of Termination of Listing" from the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The company also confirmed that it will not resume trading later and will be delisted directly.
While the delisting process of ST Qingyue is basically locked, the investor compensation work is also advancing. On October 23, a special advance compensation fund of 370 million yuan jointly funded by GF Securities, Lixin Certified Public Accountants and Gao Yudi, the actual controller of ST Qingyue, was officially established, with China Securities Investor Protection Fund Co., Ltd. as the manager, which is used to compensate the losses suffered by eligible investors.
In addition, *ST Lingnan has received the preliminary notice of par value delisting and entered the delisting process.
Portraits of 27 Delisted Companies: Fraudulent and Hollowed-out Companies Are Being Cleared Out at an Accelerated Pace
Different from the concentrated par value delisting in the previous two years, among the companies cleared out this year, most of the cases are those whose main business cannot be sustained and whose statements are falsified. Multiple channels such as market capitalization delisting, voluntary privatization and absorption and merger are operating simultaneously, and delisting is no longer a single-mode batch clearance.
Wind data shows that as of late October this year, 27 listed companies have completed delisting or locked in delisting within the year. Among them, the number of financial mandatory delisting is the largest, reaching 13. Most of these companies have long lost the foundation of stable operation, with continuously shrinking revenue, successive years of losses, and red lights on audit reports one after another. Delisted Guandian once had the aura of transferring from the Beijing Stock Exchange to the Sci-Tech Innovation Board, but finally triggered the financial mandatory delisting because its deducted non-net profit was negative for two consecutive years and its revenue was less than 300 million yuan. Delisted Yanshi became the first delisted liquor enterprise in the A-share market, and its past capital story was finally defeated by the continuously shrinking revenue and out-of-control internal management. The financial delisting will set a delisting arrangement period to leave a trading window for investors, which is also the most important way for the market to clear "zombie enterprises".
The number of companies subject to mandatory delisting for major illegal acts has increased significantly within the year. Delisted Changyao, Delisted Lifang and other companies packaged their performance through fictional businesses and inflated revenue, and maintained their listing status with false data. This type of delisting is more punitive, directly targeting the bottom line of information disclosure, and is distinguished from the financial delisting caused by simple poor operation.
Multiple cases of transaction-based mandatory delisting have been implemented this year. *ST Aowei, *ST Jinglun and *ST Wanfang triggered market capitalization delisting because their total market capitalization was lower than 500 million yuan for 20 consecutive trading days, becoming the earlier market capitalization delisting cases within the year. *ST Lingnan triggered par value delisting because its closing price was lower than 1 yuan for 20 consecutive trading days, and has received the preliminary notice of termination of listing. *ST Qingyue also locked in delisting due to par value delisting, but it is also superimposed with major illegal risks such as fraudulent issuance and financial fraud. The thresholds for different boards are different: the main board will be triggered when the total market capitalization is lower than 500 million yuan for 20 consecutive trading days, while the standard for the Sci-Tech Innovation Board, ChiNext Board and B-shares is 300 million yuan. There is no arrangement buffer period for transaction-based delisting. Once confirmed, the delisting process is very fast, and the risk comes more directly.
In terms of voluntary delisting, Deppon Co., Ltd., Wazhou B and *ST Konka A all withdrew from the A-share market through shareholder meeting resolutions, tender offers or privatization, which are market-oriented voluntary delisting choices. Among them, Deppon Co., Ltd. was delisted on March 31; Wazhou B completed the termination of listing on October 16, which was voluntarily terminated because the public shareholding ratio was lower than 10% after the controlling shareholder completed the full tender offer; the privatization plan of *ST Konka A has been approved by the general meeting of shareholders, and was officially delisted on October 23, ending its 34-year listing career.
In addition, Dongxing Securities and Cinda Securities were terminated from listing on October 19 due to being swapped and absorbed by China International Capital Corporation, and the delivery was completed on October 26. The original shareholders' shares were converted into A-shares of China International Capital Corporation according to the share exchange ratio.
From Minchankan B to *ST Zhuoran: Market Capitalization Delisting Consolidates the Market Clearance Bottom Line
When it comes to market capitalization delisting, we have to mention Minchankan B, which is a classic case for understanding the difference between par value delisting and market capitalization delisting. In 2012, this Xiamen small home appliance B-share enterprise faced the risk of par value delisting because its share price was continuously lower than 1 yuan. Finally, it successfully maintained its listing status through 6:1 share consolidation to raise the share price, becoming a well-known sample of "share consolidation to maintain listing status" in the market. However, in July 2026, Minchankan B faced delisting pressure again. This time the risk came from the market capitalization indicator: the company's total market capitalization once fell below the 300 million yuan threshold, and then temporarily stabilized its market capitalization through share repurchase and controlling shareholder's share increase. Since the fundamentals have not improved significantly, the delisting risk has not been completely lifted. The two crises before and after form a sharp contrast: share consolidation can raise the share price, but it is difficult to increase the total market capitalization. This case intuitively exposes the defect of the single share price indicator, and also promotes the establishment of the market capitalization delisting rule.
Market capitalization delisting belongs to the transaction-based delisting indicator, which was officially established during the delisting system reform in 2020. The standard for Sci-Tech Innovation Board, ChiNext Board, Beijing Stock Exchange and pure B-share companies is that the daily closing total market capitalization is lower than 300 million yuan for 20 consecutive trading days, and the standard for main board A-share companies has been adjusted to 500 million yuan since October 30, 2024. This indicator is mainly for a special type of entity whose share price remains above 1 yuan, avoiding the par value delisting constraint, but with light trading volume, insufficient liquidity, almost stagnant main business, and temporarily not meeting the financial delisting conditions, occupying listing resources for a long time. Market capitalization delisting gives the judgment right to the market, does not examine profits and audit opinions, and the continuous low valuation can trigger the delisting process. When multiple delisting conditions coexist, the principle of "the first triggered, the first applied" is followed, and the first indicator that meets the standard will be taken as the basis for the exchange to terminate the listing. There is no delisting arrangement period for transaction-based delisting. After the delisting decision is issued, there is little buffer space left for investors, and the risk transmission is faster.
After the rule was established, it was gradually implemented. Jianche B was delisted in August 2024, becoming the first B-share company delisted due to market capitalization. *ST Shentian was delisted in September 2024, becoming the first A-share company delisted due to market capitalization. Entering 2026, *ST Aowei, *ST Jinglun and *ST Wanfang have been delisted one after another due to market capitalization delisting. Market capitalization delisting has replaced par value delisting and become the main type of transaction-based mandatory delisting.
Enlightenment of the Registration-based System: Enterprises Can Be Listed, and They Can Also Be Delisted
Five years after the implementation of the new delisting regulations, the main line of A-share delisting has been rotating, behind which is the continuous evolution of the market ecology. In 2021, the new delisting regulations were implemented, with 20 companies delisted throughout the year, and the clearance intensity increased significantly, mainly based on financial delisting. 2022 ushered in the peak of financial delisting, with 46 enterprises delisted throughout the year, focusing on clearing a batch of companies with hollowed-out main business. In 2023, a total of 45 companies were delisted, and par value delisting began to increase. Zijing Storage and Zeda Yisheng were delisted, realizing the breakthrough of delisting due to fraudulent issuance on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board. 2024 was the peak of the number of delisting in the past five years, with 52 companies delisted throughout the year. Transaction-based delisting occupied the absolute mainstream, and *ST Shentian appeared as the first market capitalization delisting case in the A-share market. The number of delisted companies in 2025 dropped to 29, the proportion of transaction-based delisting decreased, and multiple delisting paths developed in parallel.
As of late October, the 27 companies that have been delisted or locked in delisting within the year are divided into four categories: 13 financial delisting, 5 major illegal delisting, 5 transaction-based delisting, and 4 voluntary delisting and absorption-merger delisting. The focus of supervision has shifted from simply screening low-quality companies through trading indicators such as share price and market capitalization to penetrating and verifying the actual operating conditions of enterprises and the authenticity of information disclosure.
With the accumulation of delisting cases one by one, the market ecology is undergoing subtle changes. Funds speculating on ST stocks and betting on maintaining listing status are becoming more and more cautious, the value of shell resources continues to shrink, and the method of betting on restructuring to turn around is no longer a sure-win play. For ordinary investors, the risk of transaction-based delisting needs special vigilance: it does not depend on the performance, but only on the market trading results, with no arrangement period buffer, and the risk breaks out very quickly. After enterprises with financial fraud and fraudulent listing are delisted, investors can also safeguard their rights through channels such as advance compensation and class action, forcing listed companies and intermediary institutions to abide by the compliance bottom line.
From par value delisting to market capitalization delisting, from clearing out through financial indicators to punishing major illegal acts, a complete closed-loop delisting system has taken shape. *ST Zhuoran's advance lock-in of market capitalization delisting also sounded the alarm for all hard technology listed companies. The registration-based system opens the door for sci-tech innovation enterprises to go public, but the listing qualification is not a permanent pass. Enterprises need to continuously create value to meet the bottom line requirements of the capital market. In the future, the balance between entry and exit in the A-share market will become the norm, high-quality enterprises will go public smoothly, low-quality and illegal enterprises will be cleared out in an orderly manner, and the value discovery function of the capital market will continue to be strengthened.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Rongzhong Finance", written by Dai Xianchao, and authorized by 36Kr for release.