CHINA’S Nasdaq-style sci-tech innovation board, known as the STAR Market, has continued to advance the innovative transformation of the Chinese economy via channeling more capital to relevant areas.

Saturday marks the board’s fourth anniversary. As of Friday, 546 firms have been listed on the STAR Market and the market’s total value reached 6.41 trillion yuan (US$897.06 billion), data from the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) showed.

As of June 30, the 542 companies listed on the board have raised 847.7 billion yuan via initial public offerings and the companies all belong to strategic emerging industries and high-tech industries.

“Featuring high investment and high risks, sci-tech innovative enterprises have higher demand for the capital market,” said Li Qiusuo, managing director of the research department at China International Capital Corp., adding that the sci-tech innovation board has made the capital market serve the real economy better.

In 2022, the R&D investment of companies listed on the board accounted for 16% of their total revenue on average, 3 percentage points higher from the previous year.

The STAR market was launched on the Shanghai exchange July 22, 2019, kicking off a trailblazing leg of the country’s innovation drive and capital market reform.

The board was designed to support companies in the high-tech and strategic emerging sectors, in order to facilitate the innovative transformation of the Chinese economy and explore ways to make institutional improvements in the capital market. (Xinhua)