Beijing Stock Exchange  Photo:Li Hao/GT

Tuesday marks the fourth anniversary since the announcement of the establishment of the Beijing Stock Exchange (BSE) in 2021. Through a series of institutional innovations and market-oriented reforms, the BSE has achieved steady growth and is now functioning as a catalyst to propel the growth of high-tech small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Since its establishment, the BSE has achieved steady expansion. A total of 274 companies had been listed as of the end of August, with a combined market capitalization exceeding 900 billion yuan ($126.22 billion), according to data obtained by the Global Times on Monday.

The BSE has established a set of tailored institutional arrangements to serve innovation-oriented SMEs, with SMEs now accounting for nearly 80 percent of all the listed companies, while national "little giants" - SMEs that typically specialize in niche sectors, command high market shares and boast strong innovative capacity - represent more than half, the data showed.

In addition, the investor base continues to expand, with the number of qualified investors exceeding 9 million as of the end of August. Currently, all the 274 listed companies have disclosed their semi-annual reports, reporting average revenue of 336 million yuan, up 6.01 percent year-on-year.

The BSE has demonstrated remarkable inclusiveness and attractiveness through its continuous expansion, broad industry coverage, and increasingly diversified corporate structure, Dong Shaopeng, a senior research fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Monday.

The continuous improvement in the quality of listed companies - for example, the listing of more specialized and sophisticated SMEs - reflects the BSE's alignment with national strategies to support innovation-driven enterprises, significantly enhancing its role in facilitating direct financing for cutting-edge companies, Dong said.

In October 2024, the BSE, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the National Equities Exchange and Quotations reached an agreement to enhance their coordination and collaborate in areas such as institutional synergy, company cultivation and work coordination to form a cohesive force that promotes the development of high-quality innovative SMEs.

The focus on nurturing innovative SMEs has not only strengthened China's capital market ecosystem, but also positioned the nation as a main force in fostering cutting-edge industrial advancements. In turn, this trend attracts global capital seeking opportunities amid China's innovation-driven growth trajectory, according to Dong.

"Chinese financial markets have been buoyed by greater investor confidence, business resilience, and steady economic growth. China has proven that it is investible and most importantly, indispensable. Rapid progress across a growing range of industries, including cutting-edge technology such as artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, drones, robots, and pharmaceuticals, drove its growth but this remains an underappreciated dynamic within the global investment landscape," David Liao, co-chief executive of Asia and the Middle East at HSBC, said at the 12th Annual China Conference in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province held on Monday, according to the information the company shared with the Global Times. 

"According to a survey of nearly 300 active global emerging markets funds (GEMs) conducted by HSBC Global Investment Research, China now accounts for almost 28 percent of GEMs' fund portfolios, up from 22.5 percent in August 2024," Liao said.

There was a net inflow of overseas capital into A-shares during the first half of 2025. As of the end of June, foreign investors' holdings of A-shares reached 3.07 trillion yuan, Meng Lei, China equity strategist with UBS Securities, wrote in a note sent to the Global Times on Monday.

"Looking ahead, we believe overseas investors have ample room to increase their positions in A-shares. With China's economy continuing to recover, and breakthroughs in corporate innovations driving fundamental profitability improvements, along with the anti-involution campaign, global investors may regain confidence in the A-share market and return to allocate capital systematically," Meng noted.