On the afternoon of April 10th, when Mr. Chen, who works at a securities firm, saw the official release of the fourth set of listing standards for the ChiNext board, he exclaimed excitedly, "Finally, it has been officially implemented

On the same day, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (hereinafter referred to as the "CSRC") issued the "Opinions on Deepening the Reform of the Growth Enterprise Market to Better Serve the Development of New Quality Productivity" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions"), and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (hereinafter referred to as the "Shenzhen Stock Exchange") publicly solicited opinions on the four supporting business rules that were simultaneously formulated and revised. The Opinion proposes eight reform measures, including optimizing the issuance and listing standards to enhance inclusiveness and attractiveness, and actively leveraging the role of local governments to help improve the efficiency of review and registration.

Among them, adding the fourth set of listing standards for the ChiNext board is one of the core measures of the "Opinions" and also one of the most concerned measures in the market. The introduction of the fourth set of listing standards for the ChiNext board has long been expected by the market.

In March 2026, Wu Qing, Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, issued a signal that the reform of the ChiNext board will introduce a more targeted and inclusive listing standard to increase support for new industries, new formats, and new technology enterprises, while also supporting high-quality innovative and entrepreneurial enterprises in areas such as new consumption and modern service industries to be listed on the ChiNext board.

Mr. Chen mentioned that the addition of a fourth set of listing standards is a major highlight of this reform, specifically designed for high-quality innovative and entrepreneurial enterprises in emerging and future industries, further expanding the listing channels for innovative enterprises.

Add a fourth set of listing standards

Among the various contents of the Opinion, Mr. Chen is most concerned about the addition of the fourth set of listing standards.

Regarding specific standards, the Opinion specifies two indicators: one is "expected market value not less than 3 billion yuan, operating revenue not less than 200 million yuan in the past year, and compound annual growth rate of revenue not less than 30% in the past three years", mainly applicable to enterprises in emerging industries; The second requirement is that the expected market value should not be less than 4 billion yuan, the operating income in the most recent year should not be less than 200 million yuan, and the cumulative R&D investment in the most recent three years should not be less than 100 million yuan and account for no less than 15% of the revenue. This is mainly applicable to enterprises in the future industrial field.

A spokesperson for the China Securities Regulatory Commission stated that in recent years, innovative and entrepreneurial enterprises in emerging and future industries in China have continuously emerged. These enterprises generally have the characteristics of large initial investment, low revenue starting point, and fast value leap, and urgently need the capital market to provide more efficient and matching financial support. In order to better adapt to the development laws and characteristics of these enterprises and enhance the inclusiveness of diversified innovation on the ChiNext board, this reform has added a fourth set of listing standards for the ChiNext board. By introducing growth and innovation indicators such as compound income growth rate and R&D investment, combined with market value and income indicators, high-quality enterprises with high growth potential and outstanding innovation capabilities can be better supported.

When asked by reporters, the person in charge of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange also stated that the fourth set of listing standards sets higher market value requirements to facilitate the screening of companies with high market recognition. The revenue indicator can measure the level of commercialization of an enterprise, and the threshold of 200 million yuan requires the enterprise to have a certain scale, which is also in line with the development law of early growth innovative and entrepreneurial enterprises.

IPO of unprofitable enterprises brings new opportunities for growth

The reform of the ChiNext board highlights its functional positioning, better serving the high-quality development of the real economy, especially for the IPO (initial public offering) of unprofitable enterprises, which will once again usher in new opportunities.

The Opinion clearly states that we will actively support high-quality non-profit innovative enterprises and high-quality innovative enterprises in the fields of new consumption, modern service industry, etc. to be listed on the ChiNext board. Make good use of the existing listing standards of the ChiNext board and support high-quality enterprises that meet the positioning of the board and the requirements of national industrial policies to issue and list on the ChiNext board.

The spokesperson of the China Securities Regulatory Commission stated that this is an urgent need to better support technological innovation and the development of new quality productivity. The current new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is accelerating breakthroughs, and many fields such as artificial intelligence are showing explosive development. New technologies give rise to new industries and formats, requiring capital markets to provide more efficient and convenient financing support. Further enhancing the inclusiveness and adaptability of the ChiNext system is conducive to better leveraging the characteristics and advantages of the ChiNext sector, and providing greater support for the upgrading of traditional industries, the growth of emerging industries, and the cultivation of future industries.

Mr. Chen revealed that a semiconductor company he had been following up with for a long time happened to meet the fourth set of listing standards, but due to the delayed implementation of the standards, the company has not formally submitted an IPO application. Now that the fourth set of standards has been officially released, the IPO process of the company will also accelerate accordingly.

As the inclusiveness of the ChiNext board continues to improve, the market cannot help but pay attention to whether it will form a competitive relationship with the Science and Technology Innovation Board. In response to this, a spokesperson for the China Securities Regulatory Commission stated that both the Science and Technology Innovation Board and the Growth Enterprise Market are important platforms for the capital market to serve technological innovation and the development of new quality productivity. In recent years, while adhering to their respective positioning, the "two innovation boards" have achieved well differentiated development and complementary advantages. Among them, the Science and Technology Innovation Board highlights the characteristics of "hard technology" and focuses on serving enterprises that carry out key core technology research and development. It has formed industrial clusters in fields such as integrated circuits and biomedicine; The ChiNext board mainly serves growth oriented innovation and entrepreneurship enterprises, cultivating a number of benchmark enterprises in the fields of new energy and high-end equipment.

The spokesperson of the China Securities Regulatory Commission added that the fourth set of listing standards added to the ChiNext board focuses on the introduction, transformation, and application of cutting-edge technologies, and forms a certain distinction from the listing standards related to the Science and Technology Innovation Board in terms of indicator setting, applicable industry scope, and industrial development stage. In the future, the China Securities Regulatory Commission will guide the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges to actively leverage the characteristics and advantages of the "two innovation boards", coordinate development, form synergy, further expand the coverage of capital market services for the real economy, and strive to achieve the reform effect of "1+1>2".

Strictly prevent 'reporting with illness'

The improvement of inclusiveness does not mean that the IPO review standards for the ChiNext board will be substantially relaxed.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) stated that considering the characteristics of high growth and high uncertainty of companies listed under the fourth set of standards, the CSRC will adhere to the principle of gradual progress and quality priority, and organize the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and industry institutions to further strengthen review and control, risk disclosure, and investor education. Including: strict control of issuance and listing access, strengthening the responsibility of intermediary agencies as "gatekeepers", highlighting the requirements for growth and innovation, strictly adhering to the bottom line of financial authenticity, preventing "sick declaration" and "rushing forward", and improving the quality of listed companies from the source.

In addition, for companies that have not yet made a profit at the time of their initial public offering, a special symbol "U" should be added after the stock abbreviation before achieving profitability, continuously indicating relevant risks. Controlling shareholders, actual controllers, directors, and executives are not allowed to reduce their holdings of shares before the initial public offering within three full accounting years from the date of listing.

In addition, in terms of risk prevention and strong supervision, the spokesperson of the China Securities Regulatory Commission stated that this reform will place the protection of investors' legitimate rights and interests in a prominent position, focusing on the entry, continuous supervision, and exit of the Growth Enterprise Market, and effectively strengthening the supervision of the entire process, all links, and all participating entities.

One is to strictly control the access to issuance and listing. Strictly implement the evaluation standards for growth oriented innovation and entrepreneurship enterprises on the Growth Enterprise Market and the negative list system for listing recommendations, and give full play to the roles of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange Listing Review Committee, industry consulting experts, and others. Strengthen the checks and balances of public power and supervision, further enhance the risk prevention and control of integrity throughout the entire process of exchange review, listing committee review, and registration with the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and strictly hold accountable in accordance with regulations, discipline, and law;

The second is to strictly prevent and punish illegal and irregular behaviors such as financial fraud. Strengthen penetrating supervision, enhance the quality and efficiency of technology enabled supervision, strengthen non site monitoring and detection of financial fraud, improve the information communication and sharing mechanism between the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and other units within the China Securities Regulatory Commission system, and timely detect and handle emerging problems. Use all legal means to severely punish illegal and irregular behaviors such as fraudulent issuance, financial fraud, market manipulation, insider trading, etc. Promote judicial authorities to provide high-quality judicial protection for companies and investors listed on the ChiNext board;

The third is to further strengthen the responsibility of intermediary agencies as gatekeepers. Improve the regulatory system for sponsor institutions and sponsor representatives, strengthen the evaluation of the quality of sponsor institutions' practice, severely crack down on illegal and irregular behaviors such as cooperating with fraud and rushing to invest, and urge sponsor institutions and sponsor representatives to be honest, trustworthy, diligent, responsible, and clean in their work;

The fourth is to highlight the classification supervision of "supporting excellence and limiting inferiority". Differentiated arrangements will be made for high-quality innovative companies in areas such as IPO, mergers and acquisitions, and stock and bond financing to further improve convenience and efficiency. For companies with irregular operations, continue to strengthen supervision in accordance with regulations. The fifth is strict delisting supervision. Improve and strictly implement the delisting system, and increase investor protection during the delisting process.

In the long run, Huafu Securities believes that the "Opinions" have comprehensively established the institutional cornerstone for high-quality innovative enterprises to enter the capital market through systematic reforms such as precise quality improvement on the issuance side, flexible empowerment on the financing and mergers and acquisitions side, improved mechanisms on the market side, and strict coordination on the regulatory side. It has effectively stimulated the endogenous driving force for enterprise growth and industrial upgrading, built a market ecology of investment and financing virtuous cycle, and strengthened multiple barriers for risk prevention and investor protection.