More Inclusive Rules, More Targeted Resources, A Better Ecosystem — Multi-party Discussions on Building a New Capital Market Ecosystem Serving Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)

SMEs’ difficulty and high cost of financing is a global challenge. On October 21, during the 2026 Financial Street Forum Annual Conference, the parallel forum titled “Building a New Capital Market Ecosystem for SMEs”, hosted by the Beijing Stock Exchange (BSE), brought together experts from government authorities, universities and financial institutions, as well as corporate representatives, to share insights on this issue. Industry insiders noted that capital market support for SMEs requires coordinated efforts from institutional arrangements, policy support and market ecosystem development.

A Chinese Solution: Forging a Differentiated Development Path

“SMEs have diverse and differentiated financing needs,” said Shang Chao, Deputy Director of the SME Bureau of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). Early-stage tech SMEs may not require large financing amounts but demand higher risk tolerance; while “little giant” enterprises seeking further growth need lower-cost capital. Financial institutions also need more precise assessment of the technical feasibility and growth prospects of enterprises.

The bottleneck lies not only in capital supply but also in matching institutional arrangements. Guo Biao, Deputy Party Secretary of the School of Finance, Renmin University of China, argued that SMEs differ drastically from mature established firms in risk profiles and growth trajectories. The inclusiveness and adaptability of capital market rules hinge on keeping institutional arrangements aligned with evolving corporate forms. This cannot be solved by a single market or standalone policy; instead, a systematic solution is required — which has been the core focus of the BSE’s five years of exploration.

“The BSE was founded to support innovative SMEs and has developed a distinctive model to ease their financing strains,” said Wang Sheng, Chairman of China Galaxy Securities. Over the past five years, the BSE has opened up capital market access for SMEs with a clear differentiated positioning. The tiered nurturing pathway — regional equity markets for seedling cultivation, the NEEQ for standardized growth, the BSE for expansion, and the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges for further upgrading — has delivered tangible results. Mixed trading mechanisms, index products including the BSE 50, and equity-bond linkage instruments have steadily boosted market liquidity. The past five years also saw the securities industry return to its original mission. Galaxy Securities has provided tutoring services for more than 140 NEEQ-listed firms, growing alongside the BSE with full-chain investment banking, market-making, research and investment services.

New practical measures were unveiled on site alongside institutional design and service rollouts: the BSE, National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ) and the SME Development Promotion Center under MIIT jointly launched the BSE & NEEQ Service Zone. The platform will leverage systematic service strengths to deliver policy and market resources precisely to SMEs.

More Inclusive Institutions, More Targeted Resource Allocation

Beyond market innovation, policy support is being accelerated. Shang Chao disclosed that MIIT will launch a special campaign to boost SME financing with three major priorities:

• At the micro level: deepen industry-finance data sharing and model alignment, and leverage evaluation results for specialized, sophisticated, unique and innovative enterprises to enhance corporate credit for financing.

• Along industrial chains: carry out the “one chain, one policy, one batch” financing initiative, guiding social capital to invest early-stage, small-scale, long-term and hard technology projects.

• At the macro level: build an efficient financing support system and launch an online financing service platform for enterprises.

What is the underlying policy logic? Guo Biao suggested that reforms should take listing rules as the breakthrough point, shifting from financial threshold screening to future value pricing. Meanwhile, market entry and exit channels should be unblocked to provide listing opportunities for innovative enterprises at all growth stages and maintain market dynamism. Supporting policies including dividend distribution, share buybacks, mergers and acquisitions should be improved to reward investors.

The synergy of institutions and policies must take root across every link of the market ecosystem.

Enterprises have gained tangible benefits. Ge Shili, Chairman and General Manager of BSE-listed firm Kangmeite, told the Shanghai Securities News that the company has secured more stable financing channels, greatly lifted brand value, improved talent incentive schemes such as equity incentives, and strengthened industrial chain integration capacity. Stable funding enables the firm to sustain long-term R&D investment even amid performance fluctuations. Going forward, it will focus on its core electronic packaging materials business and expand into advanced semiconductor packaging, carbon fiber and other new materials sectors.

On the other side of the service ecosystem, intermediaries and long-term capital are stepping up participation. Zhang Jian, Vice Chairman and General Manager of Shenwan Hongyuan Securities, stated that serving innovative SMEs requires the philosophy of patient capital, integrating investment banking, research and investment to deliver full-cycle companion-style services. Fan Li, Chairman of Soochow Securities, proposed basing business on regional strengths and deeply cultivating the Yangtze River Delta, pursuing shared prosperity rather than isolated success. Liao Xiaofei, General Manager of SDIC Securities, said the firm will build an industrial investment bank with core competitiveness. Drawing on the group’s RMB 350 billion industrial fund, it will adopt the “investment plus investment banking” model to help SMEs integrate into leading industrial chains and revalue growth enterprises from an industrial perspective.

Jing Lei, General Manager of Harvest Fund, suggested that given the BSE’s small market capitalization, scattered sectors and high price volatility, investment research should extend upstream to NEEQ firms and “little giant” SMEs, and provide full-life-cycle support downstream. Retail investors are advised to allocate capital long-term via public funds and smooth out volatility with regular fixed investment.

All participants reached a consensus: over the past five years, the BSE has operated steadily and effectively, enabling numerous high-quality niche SMEs to access capital markets and achieve accelerated growth. Standing at a new starting point, all market participants will jointly build a new capital market ecosystem for SMEs, injecting sustained momentum into technological innovation and high-quality economic development.

Source: Shanghai Securities News