More than 100 listed companies controlled by central enterprises respond to "market value management"

The price-to-book ratio, dividend yield and net profit of some listed companies controlled by central enterprises

Data as of the close of April 29 Wang Zilin tabulated

◎Reporter Wang Zilin

After the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council clearly proposed to "comprehensively promote the market value management assessment of listed companies" in early 2024, market value management has quickly become the key work of listed companies controlled by major central enterprises. The 2023 annual reports of listed companies of central enterprises that have been disclosed recently have actively elaborated on this.

A reporter from Shanghai Securities News combed through the latest trends of listed companies controlled by central enterprises and found that more than 50 companies have focused on relevant work plans in their 2023 annual reports, ESG reports or board work reports. In addition, in the past two months, more than 80 listed companies controlled by central enterprises have communicated with investors on the topic of market value management in the process of performance briefings, roadshows or surveys by institutional investors.

According to the reporter, as of the close of trading on April 29, a total of 57 central enterprises in A-shares (after excluding financial central enterprises) had a price-to-book ratio of less than 1 times, a decrease from the number two years ago, and the number of "broken" companies accounted for about 15% of all listed companies controlled by central enterprises. How to improve the valuation level of listed companies controlled by central enterprises in the capital market and match their status in the mainland economic system is an area of focus for regulators at all levels and relevant competent authorities, and the market value management with dividends, repurchases, increased holdings, full communication with investors and even industrial chain mergers and acquisitions is an important starting point for improving the company's valuation.

Market value management has become a "must-answer question" for central enterprises

"The company implements the guidelines of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council to comprehensively promote the market value management assessment of listed companies, with the improvement of the quality of listed companies as the core, scientifically, compliantly and efficiently carries out market value management, and forms a working system with its own characteristics. Zhongfu Shenying said that in 2024, the company will continue to work hard in business, technology, operation, governance, mechanism, etc., improve its core competitiveness, and then create company value; supplemented by capital operation, improve the effect of market value management; by strengthening the integration of the company's resources, let the capital truly play the role of optimizing resource allocation, and finally realize the organic unity of the company's market value and intrinsic value.

The reporter combed through the market value management planning of a number of listed companies controlled by central enterprises and found that specific measures such as optimizing financial management, focusing on the main business to stabilize and sustain profitability, strengthening innovation and research and development, and integrating with strategic emerging industries, steadily consolidating corporate governance and establishing positive interactions, insisting on improving shareholder returns, and boosting confidence in the secondary market have been mentioned many times.

When introducing the company's business plan for 2024 in the annual report, Dongfang Electric mentioned that it will further improve the efficiency of market value management this year and make greater efforts to enhance the ability to create and realize value.

Specifically, Dongfang Electric will continue to improve the modern enterprise system with Chinese characteristics, solidly promote the construction and standardized operation of the board of directors, improve the quality of information disclosure guided by the needs of investors, and effectively promote the level of corporate governance to a new level. At the same time, we will further improve the ESG working mechanism, improve ESG performance, and explore the construction of an ESG system with Chinese characteristics and in line with international standards. In addition, the company will adhere to the bottom line of compliance, insist on paying equal attention to process and results, and establish a market value management mechanism and evaluation system based on the actual development of the company to help realize the company's value.

The annual results briefing is an important way for listed companies to communicate with investors. The reporter noted that market value management has become one of the topics that investors are most concerned about listed companies controlled by central enterprises. Recently, a number of "top leaders" of listed companies controlled by central enterprises have fully communicated with investors on market value management.

"The company attaches great importance to market value management and the company's capital market performance. Ran Xing, chairman of AVIC Heavy Machinery, said that the company actively implemented the work plan for improving the quality of listed companies controlled by central enterprises and related requirements of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, formulated a work plan, and will adhere to the market value management concept with value creation as the core, further enhance the ability to realize value, and effectively promote the company's high-quality development.

Dai Hegen, chairman of China Railway Construction, said that the company has conscientiously implemented the relevant requirements of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council and the securities regulator on strengthening market value management, and has taken a series of measures. In terms of improving investor returns, the board of directors of the company approved the profit distribution plan for 2023, and the proportion of dividends to be distributed in the consolidated statements of the current year attributable to ordinary shareholders of the listed company will be increased from 15.91% in 2022 to 20.18%. The company has also formulated a shareholder return plan for the next three years to ensure the continuity and stability of the profit distribution policy.

Local state-owned listed companies have improved their market value management

Although the assessment scope of the market value management of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council currently only includes central enterprises, as an important part of the mainland capital market, the market value management of state-controlled listed companies under the local SASAC is also of great significance to the capital market. At the meeting of local state-owned assets leaders held in early 2024, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council proposed that local state-owned enterprises should refer to the "one profit and five rates" target management system of central enterprises and strengthen the assessment and evaluation of market value management.

The reporter noticed that some state-owned enterprises have taken action to list market value management as an important strategy for future development.

Tongbao Energy, a listed company affiliated to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Shanxi Province, said that it will vigorously improve the quality of listed companies this year, establish a good market image, and achieve steady growth in market value. The company will practice the "investor-oriented" development concept of listed companies, optimize investor relations management, carry out multi-level and multi-form investor relations interaction, and convey corporate culture and values. Improve the standardized standards of the company's market value management, promote the company's quality and efficiency, reasonably return investors, and continuously improve the company's investment value.

At the beginning of this year, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council said that it would further study the inclusion of market value management in the performance appraisal of the heads of central enterprises, and the company would also actively pay attention to the relevant deployment of local state-owned assets. Chengdu state-owned enterprise Borui Communication said that the company has always attached great importance to market value management, we uphold the core concept of "creating intrinsic value and improving the quality of the company", and strive to create more value for investors, provide reasonable returns, and achieve a reasonable valuation level in the capital market by standardizing governance and enhancing the company's core competitiveness.

According to the 2023 board work report disclosed by Zhongguang Tianxue, a listed company affiliated to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Changsha City, at the beginning of this year, the market value management policies of listed companies were introduced one after another, and a new round of state-owned enterprise reform actions set sail around "upgrading". The company will take this opportunity to continue to unswervingly follow the pace of reform of state-owned assets and state-owned enterprises, adhere to the market value management concept with the enhancement of intrinsic value as the core, and attach great importance to, cultivate and consolidate the core competitiveness.

Source: Shanghai Securities News