Why can the Science and Technology Innovation Board take the lead?
On July 22, 2025, the Science and Technology Innovation Board (STAR Market) officially celebrated its sixth anniversary since its opening.
Over the past six years, the STAR Market has bravely served as the "testing ground" for capital market reform, focusing on the "hard technology" track and incubating a number of industry-leading enterprises. These enterprises focus on technological breakthroughs in key areas, with their R & D investment reaching new highs year after year and innovation achievements emerging frequently.
Data shows that currently, the number of listed companies on the STAR Market has reached 589, with a total market value of over 7 trillion yuan. Companies in emerging industries such as new-generation information technology, biomedicine, and high-end equipment manufacturing account for over 80%. The STAR Market has become the vanguard in achieving high - level technological self - reliance and the development of new - quality productivity in the capital market.
Among them, the top ten companies in terms of stock market value on the STAR Market currently include Hygon Information Technology Co., Ltd., Cambricon Technologies Corporation Limited, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, Kingsoft Office Software Co., Ltd., Sichuan Baili Tianheng Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., AMEC Technology Limited, United Imaging Healthcare Co., Ltd., Montage Technology Group Limited, Transsion Holdings Limited, and Insta360 Corporation. Their total market value is nearly 1.47 trillion yuan, accounting for over 20.01% of the total market value of the STAR Market, forming a development pattern led by leading enterprises and supported by clusters. These leading enterprises have shown particularly prominent performance in technological breakthroughs and industrial promotion.
Focus on "Hard Technology" Leading Enterprises
According to statistics, currently, the 589 listed companies on the STAR Market have raised a total of about 1 trillion yuan in initial public offerings, and the scale of refinancing has reached nearly 200 billion yuan, providing diversified capital support for technological innovation.
Currently, the STAR Market has become the preferred platform for "hard technology" enterprises in China to go public. For example, there are about 170 listed companies in the new - generation information technology field, covering cutting - edge tracks such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing, helping China to seize the high - ground in the digital economy; there are more than 110 listed companies in the biological field, focusing on key areas such as AIDS and tumors.
It is worth mentioning that currently, AI is deeply integrating with various industries, and a number of STAR Market companies are actively planning and deploying in the direction of new - generation information technologies such as artificial intelligence.
Junpu Intelligence Co., Ltd. is a supplier of intelligent manufacturing equipment and a provider of industrial digital software services focusing on industries such as intelligent electric vehicles, healthcare, and high - end consumer goods.
Liu Yuan, the chairman of the company, said in an interview with a reporter from the STAR Market Daily that over the past six years, as a witness and beneficiary, Junpu Intelligence has relied on the STAR Market platform to continuously deepen its core technologies in intelligent manufacturing and has made great progress in global layout, R & D breakthroughs, and empowering the digital transformation of Chinese industries.
In recent years, Junpu Intelligence has accelerated its layout in cutting - edge technologies such as industrial AI. In the first half of this year, its subsidiary, Puzhi Robotics, launched the construction of the first pilot production line for mass - producing robot bodies of Junpu Intelligence. According to the plan, the first - phase production line covers an area of about 2,000 square meters, with an estimated annual production capacity of 1,000 units.
Gaoce Co., Ltd., a leading supplier of photovoltaic cutting equipment, mainly engages in the R & D of cutting equipment and consumables for high - hardness and brittle materials. With its ultimate pursuit of "hard technology", the company has overcome a series of "bottleneck" technological problems such as high - speed and high - precision control and the thinning of diamond wires, promoting the progress of the industry.
Zhang Xiutao, the general manager of Gaoce Co., Ltd., said to a reporter from the STAR Market Daily that as the "testing ground" for China's capital market to serve technological innovation, the STAR Market has, with its inclusiveness and vitality over the past six years, provided a fertile ground for many enterprises like Gaoce Co., Ltd. that are based on "hard technology".
Long Jinjun, the chairman and general manager of Kejie Intelligence Co., Ltd., said in an interview with a reporter from the STAR Market Daily that listing on the STAR Market is an important milestone in Kejie's ten - year development process, injecting strong capital momentum into us who focus on innovation and significantly accelerating the company's process of "empowering high - quality industrial upgrading and sustainable development with automation, digitalization, and intelligent technologies".
The innovative development of Kejie Intelligence, Gaoce Co., Ltd., and Junpu Intelligence is not an isolated case. A number of STAR Market companies are continuously promoting the development of cutting - edge technologies and industrial transformation, and are accelerating their layout in future industries such as quantum information, controllable nuclear fusion, and high - temperature superconductivity.
High R & D Investment Promotes Frequent "Hard Technology" Achievements
On the STAR Market, the "testing ground" for innovation, leading enterprises in various sub - fields have demonstrated strong technological innovation capabilities in R & D investment.
According to statistics, as of 2024, the R & D investment of all listed companies on the STAR Market was 167.989 billion yuan. The continuously rising R & D data is strong evidence of the continuous innovation and breakthroughs of STAR Market enterprises. Among them, 315 listed companies on the STAR Market had R & D expenses of over 100 million yuan last year, 63 had R & D expenses of over 500 million yuan, and 28 had R & D expenses of over 1 billion yuan.
Thanks to the continuous high - level investment in R & D by STAR Market companies, a number of leading enterprises in domestic sub - industries have achieved breakthroughs in multiple fields in "hard technology" research, and their core technologies have gradually been transformed into industrial advantages.
For example, in the semiconductor field, a number of representative enterprises such as Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, Hygon Information Technology Co., Ltd., Cambricon Technologies Corporation Limited, Montage Technology Group Limited, and Topco Technology Co., Ltd. have long been committed to improving the domestic semiconductor manufacturing level, the performance of domestic GPU servers, the computing power of AI chips, and the self - controllability of semiconductor equipment; in the biomedicine field, United Imaging Healthcare Co., Ltd., a leading enterprise in high - end medical imaging equipment, has, after years of in - depth development in the industry, labeled domestic equipment with "first in the industry", "first domestic", and "world - first" tags. Some of its equipment has achieved the same or leading level as multinational giants.
Topco Technology Co., Ltd. focuses on the R & D and industrialization of semiconductor thin - film deposition equipment and hybrid bonding equipment, and has achieved full coverage of the process types of PECVD, SACVD, and HDPCVD equipment, which can support all dielectric thin - film materials required in logic chips and memory chips and about 100 types of process applications.
"In terms of the overall strength of the company, the product performance of Topco Technology can reach the advanced level of similar international equipment." A person from the secretary's office of Topco Technology told a reporter from the STAR Market Daily on July 18. The company actively seizes the strategic opportunity of the localization substitution of semiconductor equipment. Relying on the technological leading advantages of thin - film deposition equipment and advanced bonding equipment and supporting measurement and inspection equipment in the field of three - dimensional integration, the maturity and performance advantages of its products have been widely recognized by customers, the market penetration rate has been further improved, and the revenue has continued to grow at a high speed.
As an outstanding enterprise in the field of chip design, Montage Technology Group Limited has long maintained a leading technological position in key fields such as memory interface chips.
In terms of the latest R & D progress, the interconnect chip is the core product of Montage Technology Group Limited.
A person from the secretary's office of Montage Technology Group Limited told a reporter from the STAR Market Daily on July 18 that recently, the company has completed the R & D of the mass - production version of the fourth - generation DDR5 RCD chip and the engineering sample of the fifth - generation DDR5 RCD chip; in addition, the company has also completed the R & D of the engineering sample of the second - generation DDR5 MRCD/MDB chip and successfully sent samples to customers at the beginning of the year.
"The STAR Market is an important driving force for cultivating and developing new - quality productivity." Tian Xuan, the dean and professor of the National Institute of Financial Research at Tsinghua University, said in an interview with a reporter from the STAR Market Daily that as the "testing ground" for capital market reform, since its establishment, the STAR Market has adhered to focusing on serving high - tech innovation enterprises guided by national strategies. While providing financing for high - tech innovation enterprises, it supports innovation activities such as R & D investment, transformation of scientific and technological achievements, and expansion of market applications.
Continuous Deepening of Capital Market Reform
Over the past six years, the STAR Market has become the preferred destination for "hard technology" enterprises to go public.
It is worth mentioning that in terms of initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions, the STAR Market is still continuously deepening its reform.
On June 19, 2024, the China Securities Regulatory Commission issued the "Eight Measures for Deepening the Reform of the STAR Market to Serve Technological Innovation and the Development of New - Quality Productivity" (the "STAR Market Eight Measures"), injecting a "shot in the arm" into the development of the STAR Market.
In terms of content, the "STAR Market Eight Measures" mentioned that the "hard technology" positioning of the STAR Market should be strengthened. Strictly control the entry threshold and give priority to supporting "hard technology" enterprises that have made breakthroughs in key core technologies in new industries, new business models, and new technologies to list on the STAR Market.
At the beginning of 2025, the STAR Market adjusted the offline placement and lock - up arrangements for new - share issuance of unprofitable enterprises, allowing unprofitable enterprises to adopt the agreed - upon restricted - sale method and encouraging offline investors to obtain a higher placement ratio through a higher - proportion lock - up and a longer lock - up period, guiding the market to shift from focusing on short - term profits to exploring the long - term value of enterprises.
The STAR Market is the starting point of the registration - based reform and also the "testing ground" for capital market institutional reform. Under the guidance of "vigorously developing new - quality productivity" and deepening the reform of the STAR Market, the STAR Market will receive greater policy support.
On June 18 this year, Wu Qing, the chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, announced at the 2025 Lujiazui Forum that focusing on enhancing the inclusiveness and adaptability of the system, with the deepening of the reform of the STAR Market and the Growth Enterprise Market as the starting point, efforts will be made to build a more attractive and competitive market system and product - service matrix. Give better play to the "testing ground" role of the STAR Market, intensify the introduction of the "1 + 6" policy measures for further deepening the reform, comprehensively promote the comprehensive reform of investment and financing and the protection of investors' rights and interests, and accelerate the construction of a capital market ecosystem more conducive to supporting comprehensive innovation.
On July 13, the Shanghai Stock Exchange issued the "Guidelines for the Application of the Rules for the Review of Issuance and Listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange No. 7 - Pre - review" (Shanghai Stock Exchange Announcement [2025] No. 87) (hereinafter referred to as the "Guidelines"), which came into effect immediately. The "Guidelines" focus on enhancing the inclusiveness and adaptability of the review system, mainly serving technology - based enterprises in specific situations such as carrying out key core technology research. It clearly allows such enterprises to apply to the Shanghai Stock Exchange for pre - review through their sponsors before IPO on the STAR Market.
The sixth anniversary of the opening of the STAR Market is not only a milestone in the capital market but also a microcosm of China's technological self - reliance. Looking forward, the function of the STAR Market in supporting technological innovation is expected to be further exerted.
"To enhance the driving role of the STAR Market in the development of new - quality productivity, it is necessary to optimize the institutional supply and enrich financial tools." Tian Lihui, the dean of the Institute of Financial Development at Nankai University, said in an interview with a reporter from the STAR Market Daily. Since its opening, the STAR Market has always taken "institutional innovation" as its core mission and provided rich experience for capital market reform through breakthroughs in key areas such as the registration - based system pilot, refinancing, and equity incentives that precisely support R & D.
This article is from the WeChat official account "STAR Market Daily", author: Wu Xuguang. Republished by 36Kr with permission.