Shanghai Securities News and CNSTOCK (Reporter: Lin Cong): With the further “opening of doors”, the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) is getting closer to its applicants and working with greater transparency. On March 1, 2023, the SSE officially released the Action Plan of the Shanghai Stock Exchange to Further Promote “Open-Door Review, Open-Door Supervision and Open-Door Service” (hereinafter referred to as the “Three Open-Doors” Action Plan). Positioning itself as a “shopkeeper”, the SSE is “reversing work style and promoting transparency and optimizing services” to embrace market entities and ensure that its power is exercised “under the sun”.
Why does the SSE “open the doors”? Always taking the people’s position as its fundamental stance, the SSE aims to “constantly build a service-oriented exchange and better serve high-quality development”. It further prioritizes services to market entities and resolutely deepens reform efforts on streamlining administration, delegating power, strengthening regulation and improving services.
What is the result after “opening the doors”? As an old saying goes, “in the midst of silent numbers, the scene has crept in”. By the end of 2022, the SSE had streamlined its self-regulatory rules for listed companies by about 90%, and held nearly 200 events such as “Reception Day for Department Heads” and “First Lesson on STAR Market Listing”. There was a 168% increase in the number of consultations and communications before applying for listing on the STAR Market over the previous year, and about 13,000 inquiries were received for the review of credit debt financing. Moreover, the SSE officially launched the “One-Stop Online Service” portal, optimizing more than 20 functions of the listed company system and 146 functions of the membership system, to constantly increase the range, depth, and strength of the “Three Open-Doors”.
How will the SSE “open the doors” further? It is learned that the action plan consists of 12 measures in three aspects. In terms of review, supervision, and services, the SSE attempts to effectively change its work style, improve its service efficiency, and increase its supervision transparency, so as to optimize the business environment and continuously enhance the sense of gain and satisfaction of market entities.
It should be noted that measures in the plan, including sending a “letter of proposal to jointly promote open-door review” to key personnel of companies submitting applications and broadening the scope of subjects for pre-application consultation and communication, are not only new strategies to “open the front doors” and unblock channels in the context of the comprehensive registration system, but also effective moves for the SSE to implement the full coverage of open-door services, all of which are targeted and have rules to follow.
Open-door review: facilitating comprehensive registration system reform
In terms of “open-door review”, the SSE will deepen the concepts of openness and transparency, publicize the open-door channels and regulate the open-door behaviors from four perspectives, namely clarifying standards, facilitating consultation, breaking obstructions and expanding scope.
Specifically, the first is to promote “power under the sun”. The SSE will continuously disclose review standards by issuing business guidelines and offering training; minimize room for discretion by enriching review dynamics and strengthening policy interpretation; and make the review processes, procedures, and results fully public through online channels such as stock and bond systems and websites.
The second is to effectively ensure the communication needs of market entities. The SSE will optimize the consultation channels before application, during reviews, and after review to raise the level of reception. The SSE will answer all questions and provide clear responses to consultation questions to effectively address them; and will clarify review concerns and improve suggestions for those that cannot be answered directly.
The third is to open up the “last mile” of information transmission. After a company submits an application, the SSE will promptly send a “letter of proposal to jointly promote open-door review” to its chairman, general manager, board secretary, and other key personnel to specify the review process and contact information, clarify the integrity discipline, and add relevant courses into its training of independent directors, intermediaries, etc.
The fourth is to expand the scope to include more market entities. The SSE will further optimize the consultation and communication mechanism to broaden the scope of subjects for pre-application consultation and communication.
Open-door supervision: building a constructive interactive market environment
In terms of “open-door supervision”, the SSE will build a constructive interactive market environment through extensive publicity, smooth communication, emphasis on research and enhanced collaboration.
The first is to conduct ongoing publication and training on supervision dynamics. The SSE will set up a “column of supervision dynamics” in the business management system for listed companies; release the “click-up” section on common rules for listed companies; regularly inform listed companies, members, and accounting firms of the supervision status, typical cases, and key concerns through a special issue or official account; and continuously offer the “First Lesson on Listing”.
The second is to optimize the communication channels with market entities. The SSE will hold weekly “Reception Day for Department Heads” for listed companies, convene regular supervision exchange sessions for members; and improve communication efficiency with market entities by setting up a hotline to answer difficult and complex questions about information disclosure rules.
The third is to listen to market opinions to improve supervision quality and efficiency. The SSE will continuously visit and discuss with market entities to coordinate efforts to solve “urgent and difficult” problems of listed companies.
The fourth is to improve supervision coordination and collaboration. The SSE will strengthen communication and exchange with local governments and securities regulatory bureaus and regularly inform the quality improvement of listed companies.
Open-door services: serving as a “shopkeeper” for the real economy
Positioning itself as a “shopkeeper”, the SSE will be committed to establishing its brand, optimizing experience, building columns, and strengthening supervision, so as to effectively change its work style, enhance its awareness of transposition thinking, continuously improve its service attitude and steadily promote its “open-door services”.
The first is to constantly promote the construction of a comprehensive service system across product lines. The SSE will hold “SSE Capital Market Service Week” in all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities to provide comprehensive services across stocks, bonds, public REITs, funds, derivatives and investor education.
The second is to integrate the channels for “opening doors”. The SSE will upgrade the “One-Stop Online Service” and accelerate the integration of service hotline 4008888400; optimize the functions of the online training platform “Shanghai Stock Exchange Academy”; and keep improving the convenience of trading services.
The third is to address information asymmetry by setting up a “Three Open-Doors” bulletin board. The SSE will set up a “Three Open-Doors” bulletin board in a prominent position on its official website and the home page of its APP to display the open-door channels; and continuously carry out “Three Open-Doors” thematic press campaigns to enhance public recognition of the concept.
The fourth is to strengthen regulations and constraints on the “Three Open-Doors” work process. The SSE will regularly monitor and evaluate the attitude and service level of the staff of service windows; and make public the phone number for integrity and complaint reporting and clarify the discipline of integrity to create a clear and upright ecology.
For this action plan, the SSE holds an “open-door” attitude and welcomes comments and suggestions from all market participants. Regarding the implementation of subsequent tasks, the SSE will continue to work on the “Three Open-Doors” action plan, constantly improve the transparency of supervision, enhance the sense of gain of all market participants, and jointly create a favorable market enviroment.
