A few days ago, Wang Jianjun, vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, made it clear in an interview that the concept of "investor-oriented" runs through the whole process of market system design and regulatory law enforcement, which has attracted the attention of all parties.
During this period of time, various ministries and commissions have intensively introduced measures to jointly promote the high-quality development of listed companies and better return investors. The core essence of building an investor-oriented capital market is to respect investors and highlight investors' sense of gain. This is the root, and the root is deep to be woody. In the new stage of capital market development, as the micro foundation of high-quality economic development, how do listed companies look at and do? The reporter of the "Economic Information Daily" interviewed a number of Shanghai companies and learned that the construction of an investor-oriented capital market has become a consensus, and listed companies are taking multiple measures to implement the action of "improving quality and efficiency and emphasizing returns", and continue to enhance investors' sense of gain with real money.
Investor-oriented" has become a consensus.
Putting investors, especially small and medium-sized investors, is not only the voice of regulators, but also the consensus of more and more listed companies. Huang Wentao, chief economist of China Securities Construction Investment, said that the capital market is the main place for investors to achieve wealth appreciation, and should improve the dividend and repurchase system of listed companies, give investors sustainable investment return expectations, and support listed companies to incorporate high-quality assets, market-oriented mergers and acquisitions, and stimulate business vitality.
With the gradual improvement of the market system and the continuous optimization of the market environment, China's capital market will usher in a brighter future. When asked about the specific path for listed companies to practice investor-oriented, "high-quality development" and "strengthening shareholder returns" were frequently mentioned by listed companies in interviews.
Zou Jixin, chairman of Baosteel Co., Ltd., said that the company expects to enhance investors' confidence in holding the company for a long time and realize the common development of the company and shareholders through stable dividends and timely repurchases. The reporter learned that as early as 2004, Baosteel shares through the general meeting of shareholders to review the relevant dividend plan, the annual cash dividend is not less than 40% of the net profit of the year, in 2012 and increased this proportion to 50%, in 2021, in response to the demands of investors, the company will shorten the dividend cycle from 1 year to 6 months, so that investors can share the company's operating results earlier. Since its listing, Baosteel has accumulated a total of 115.1 billion yuan in dividends, and the total dividends are 3 percent of the amount of funds raised4 times. In addition, the average dividend yield of Baosteel shares in the past five years has reached 55%, entering the top 1% of A-shares.
According to the relevant person in charge of China Shenhua, the company has attached great importance to sharing the fruits of enterprise development with shareholders since its listing, achieving a win-win situation for the company and shareholders, and the total dividends since listing have reached 447% of the funds raised. At the same time, the company is also committed to raising investors' dividend expectations: since 2010, the dividend payout ratio has been increased to about 40%, and in 2020 and 2022, it has formulated investor return plans twice, and the dividend ratio from 2019 to 2022 has reached % and 70%.
Li Peng, chief financial officer and secretary of the board of directors of CNOOC Engineering, told reporters that the company has always adhered to the goal of returning shareholders in a full caliber, and has maintained a good dividend ratio even at the trough of operation, with a cash dividend ratio of more than 30% for eight consecutive years. In 2023, the company will distribute a cash dividend of 44.2 billion yuan, an increase of 25% over 2021. In the next step, CNOOC Engineering will continue to enhance its core competitiveness, insist on seeking momentum from reform and growth from management, enhance all-round value creativity, and provide guarantee for better returns to investors with the company's high-quality development.
There is no successful enterprise, only the enterprise of the times. According to Liu Xiaomei, secretary of the board of directors of Haier Smart Home, in the new stage of capital market development, investor-oriented has become a compulsory course for listed companies. Since its listing, Haier Smart Home has paid a total of nearly 30 billion yuan in dividends, and has formulated a cash dividend enhancement plan to ensure a steady increase in the dividend ratio. Liu Xiaomei said that creating value for shareholders is a practice with no end, and the company will continue to realize its own iterative changes based on the company's strategic development and the needs of investors, so as to better deliver and create value.
Repurchases and holdings are taken at the same time.
The reporter of the Economic Information Daily found that since the beginning of this year, many Shanghai companies have thrown out repurchase and increase their holdings, continuing to convey confidence to the market with real gold and effectively enhancing investor returns.
China's capital market to the majority of small and medium-sized investors as the main participants, they are not only an important driving force for market development, but also the most important stakeholders, the company has always attached great importance to the interests of investors, the CSRC proposed to build an investor-oriented capital market, the company for the first time to organize learning, research related programs. Pei Changjiang, secretary of the board of directors of Haitong**, said that a few days ago, the company launched a repurchase plan of 300 million yuan to 600 million yuan. According to reports, this is the second year that Haitong will complete the share repurchase of more than 4 in 2023After 1.4 billion yuan, the repurchase plan was launched again, demonstrating the company's confidence in the long-term and steady development of itself and the industry, and its determination to continue to strengthen investor returns.
Kangenbei on January 31 just launched a major shareholder increase plan, the controlling shareholder Zhejiang Traditional Chinese Medicine and Health Industry Group *** based on the company's firm confidence in the company's development prospects and the recognition of the company's long-term investment value, plans to increase the company's shares by 2% to 4%. It is worth mentioning that not long ago, Kangbei just launched a repurchase plan, and intends to implement share repurchase with its own funds of 2 to 400 million yuan. Hu Jiqiang, chairman of the company, told reporters that the company played a "combination punch" of repurchase + major shareholders to increase their holdings, used real gold to convey confidence, feed back investors, and injected a boost into stabilizing investor expectations with practical actions.
It should be noted that the companies on the STAR Market are also practicing the investor-oriented concept with practical actions. On the evening of January 30 alone, 40 companies on the Science and Technology Innovation Board disclosed announcements related to the action plan of "improving quality, efficiency and return", taking the improvement of investor returns as the starting point and the repurchase of additional company shares as the support. Taking Tuojing Technology as an example, the company intends to use part of the over-raised funds for share repurchase to safeguard the interests of the company's investors, especially small and medium-sized investors, which undoubtedly provides an example for the company on the Science and Technology Innovation Board to achieve a virtuous cycle of investment and financing. Lv Guangquan, chairman of the company, told reporters that the company will continue to strengthen the company's operation and management, through high-intensity R&D investment, continue to break through core technologies, enhance the company's core competitiveness, promote the company's steady and high-quality development, and give back to the majority of investors with the greatest efforts.
Cash dividends continue to increase.
In recent years, with the intensification of regulatory guidance and the deepening of the company's awareness of rewarding investors, the total cash dividends of companies in Shanghai have increased year by year, from 895.8 billion yuan in 2017 to 172 trillion yuan, nearly doubling in 5 years. In terms of cash dividends, the ratio of cash dividends has also remained stable at more than 30%, and has increased year by year, reaching 40% in 2022. The dividend return of real gold** makes investors feel more and more rewarding.
Since 2023, the frequency of dividends of Shanghai companies has also increased, and interim dividends have gradually become the norm. In terms of the number of companies that have made interim dividends and launched special dividends in the semi-annual and third quarterly reports, this data was only 49 in 2019, and this year it has reached 102, more than doubled. 764 companies have paid more than 30% of dividends for three consecutive years, and 117 companies have paid more than 50% of dividends for three consecutive years; 107 companies have paid cash of more than 1 billion yuan for three consecutive years: 17 companies such as the six major banks, PetroChina, Sinopec, Yangtze River Power, Kweichow Moutai and Ping An of China have paid dividends of more than 10 billion yuan for three consecutive years.
From the perspective of dividend yield, according to the price on January 30 and the dividend data of the last year, 345 companies in Shanghai have a dividend yield of more than 5%, and 16 companies such as COSCO Shipping Holdings, Liba Shares, Yankuang Energy, and Tongwei have dividend yields of more than 10%. Market analysts pointed out that in the context of building an investor-oriented capital market, the dividends and repurchase expectations of listed companies have been continuously enhanced, and the investment value of many companies has been highlighted. (Reporter Zhang Wen reports from Shanghai).
Editor: Luo Yishu.