Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The disclosure of sustainable development information by listed companies will continue to be strengthened.
Xinhua News Agency reporters Yao Junfang and Liu Hui.
The disclosure of sustainable development information of listed companies will be strengthened in terms of rules. On February 8, the Shanghai and Shenzhen North ** Stock Exchanges simultaneously solicited public comments on the sustainability reporting guidelines.
This is the first time that the three major exchanges have drafted guidelines for sustainable development information disclosure, aiming to guide listed companies to practice the concept of sustainable development, standardize relevant information disclosure, and establish and improve the system of sustainable development rules.
The guidelines drafted by the three major exchanges under the guidance of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) are divided into three dimensions: environmental, social and governance. The overall characteristics are as follows:
The implementation steps are carried out in an orderly and pragmatic manner.
The guidelines adhere to a combination of coercion, semi-coercion and encouragement. The SSE 180, STAR 50, SZSE 100 and ChiNext index sample companies, as well as companies listed at home and abroad, are required to release their 2025 annual sustainability reports before April 30, 2026, involving 51% of the company's market capitalization. At the same time, other companies are encouraged to disclose their sustainability reports. If other companies voluntarily disclose their sustainability reports, the relevant indicators should also comply with the guidelines. The Beijing Stock Exchange formulates business rules in accordance with the content of the guidelines, and generally implements the principle of voluntary disclosure.
The topic setting is based on national conditions and learning from the international community.
The selection of guiding topics reflects international consensus, such as the priority concerns of international standards, including climate and biodiversity; It also highlights Chinese characteristics and priority concerns, such as rural revitalization, innovation-driven, and equal treatment of small and medium-sized enterprises.
The indicators require that we adhere to the principle of combining leniency and severity and comprehensiveness.
In terms of climate information disclosure, the guidelines have significantly weakened the requirements for climate information disclosure and scenario analysis in value chains and joint ventures, which are more difficult to implement or more controversial. At the same time, the guidelines also cover a number of topics such as pollution and social responsibility, and most of them also have quantitative indicators, which are more comprehensive.
The relevant person in charge of the Shanghai Stock Exchange said that the drafting and issuance of sustainable development report guidelines will help better play the role of the capital market hub, guide various elements to gather in the field of green and sustainable development, and promote the realization of the "double carbon" goal and the sustainable development of economy, society and environment. It will help to enhance the medium and long-term sustainable development ability of listed companies and improve the quality of listed companies. The introduction of the guidelines will also help outstanding listed companies with a focus on sustainability to stand out and gain wide recognition from the market and investors, thereby further raising the level of valuation.
By the end of 2023, a total of 1,020 listed companies on the Shanghai Stock Exchange had disclosed their 2022 social responsibility reports, ESG reports or sustainability reports, with a disclosure rate of 47%, a record number and proportion of disclosures. The sample companies of the SSE 50 and STAR 50 Index have basically achieved full coverage, and the report disclosure rate of the sample companies of the SSE 180 Index has exceeded 90%.
In recent years, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange has successively launched the "Environmental Information Disclosure of Listed Companies", "Sustainable Development Information Disclosure of Listed Companies", and guided listed companies to strengthen their awareness of sustainable development information disclosure by sharing the sustainable development information disclosure practices and excellent cases of listed companies. At the same time, it actively provides direct financing support for the development of emerging industries in line with the national strategy.
Taking into account the characteristics of the development stage of innovative small and medium-sized enterprises on the Beijing Stock Exchange, the draft guidelines released by the Beijing Stock Exchange do not make mandatory disclosure provisions for sustainable development reports, and encourage companies to "do what they can". The Beijing Stock Exchange said that in the next step, it will give full play to the market function of "serving the main position of innovative small and medium-sized enterprises", deepen the concept of sustainable development, accelerate the improvement of market construction results, and promote innovative small and medium-sized enterprises to thoroughly implement the new development concept and accelerate green transformation.
It is reported that during the public consultation period of the guidelines, the exchange will listen to the opinions and suggestions of market participants through a variety of ways, fully study, demonstrate and absorb, and release the implementation to the market in a timely manner.