Upper Middle Association: By the end of 2023, there were a total of 2445 listed companies in the high-end manufacturing industry on the A-share market in China, accounting for 45.74% of the total number of listed companies on the A-share market.

On September 13, the China Association of Listed Companies released the "China Listed Companies' High-end Manufacturing Industry Development Report (2024)". The report shows that as of the end of 2023, there were a total of 2,445 high-end manufacturing industry listed companies on the A-share market in China, accounting for 45.74% of the total number of listed companies on the A-share market. Overall, in recent years, benefiting from policy support and historical opportunities for the transformation and upgrading of China's industrial structure, the number of listed companies in the high-end manufacturing industry in China has continued to increase, with significant operational results. I. Steady Growth in Asset and Liability Size The report shows that as of the end of 2023, the total asset size of listed companies in the high-end manufacturing industry reached 25.69 trillion yuan, accounting for 6.10% of the total assets of listed companies on the A-share market, a relatively low proportion. This is related to the distribution characteristics of industries among A-share listed companies, with banks, insurance, and other financial industries accounting for the vast majority of the total assets of listed companies on the A-share market. The total assets of the high-end manufacturing industry at the end of 2023 increased by 12.03% compared to the end of 2022 and by 89.54% compared to the end of 2019, with a compound annual growth rate of 17.33% over the past 5 years, higher than the overall compound growth rate of A-shares of 10.95%, indicating rapid growth in asset size. II. Continuous Expansion of Revenue and Profit Size Over the past 5 years, the revenue scale of listed companies in China's high-end manufacturing industry has continued to grow, from 8.24 trillion yuan in 2019 to 14.66 trillion yuan in 2023, with a compound annual growth rate of 15.50%. The revenue growth rate is significantly higher than the GDP growth rate, indicating that listed companies in the high-end manufacturing industry are still in a period of rapid development and remain one of the strong drivers of China's economic growth. In 2023, against the backdrop of a complex international situation and a decline in domestic and foreign demand, the year-on-year growth rate of operating income of listed companies in the high-end manufacturing industry decreased to 8.86%, but still significantly outpaced the overall year-on-year growth rate of 1.93% of listed companies on the A-share market in 2023, demonstrating strong development resilience. III. Continuous Increase in R&D Investment In 2023, R&D expenditure of listed companies in the high-end manufacturing industry reached 888.218 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 22.11% over the past 5 years. The annual growth rate has remained at a high level, and R&D investment has continued to increase rapidly, indicating that the high-end manufacturing industry in China attaches importance to technological iteration and industrial upgrading, continuing to increase efforts in key research. Over the past 5 years, the proportion of R&D expenditure of listed companies in the high-end manufacturing industry to income has rapidly increased, from 4.85% in 2019 to 6.06% in 2023. Listed companies in the high-end manufacturing industry attach great importance to the construction of independent R&D capabilities, and the intensity of R&D investment continues to increase. IV. Continuous Growth in Tax Contributions, Increasing Employment The report shows that in 2023, tax contributions of listed companies in the high-end manufacturing industry in China reached 243.562 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 13.24% over the past 5 years, making an important contribution to society. The number of employees reached 9.8059 million, with a compound annual growth rate of 10.74% over the past 5 years, providing a large number of job opportunities for society and attracting a large number of technical talents. V. Continuous Growth in Overseas Income, Diversification of Overseas Listings Over the past 5 years, listed companies in China's high-end manufacturing industry have continuously expanded their overseas business, seeking a broader market space. The year-on-year growth rate of overseas income has remained above 15%, higher than the growth rate of overseas income of all A-share listed companies in the same period. From 2019 to 2023, the overseas income of listed companies in the high-end manufacturing industry increased from 1.6832 trillion yuan to 3.829 trillion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 22.81%, significantly higher than the compound growth rate of overseas income of all A-share listed companies in the same period of 14.38%. The proportion of overseas income in the total overseas income of all A-share listed companies increased from 33.89% to 45.04%, reflecting the gradual development of the high-end manufacturing industry into a major force for Chinese companies going global. As for overseas listings, listed companies in China's high-end manufacturing industry have actively explored diversified listing locations. As of the end of June 2024, 51 high-end manufacturing industry listed companies have achieved overseas listings, with 50 companies simultaneously listing on the A-share and Hong Kong stock markets, while BEIGENE has achieved listings on the A-share, Hong Kong, and US stock exchanges. Fifteen high-end manufacturing industry listed companies have issued GDRs (Global Depositary Receipts) on foreign exchanges. VI. New Quality Productivity Promotes High-Quality Development of the High-end Manufacturing Industry In response to the national call, listed companies in China's high-end manufacturing industry have actively engaged in strategic layouts, practiced the new development concept, actively engaged in technological innovation, sought revolutionary breakthroughs in technology, and continuously stimulated new quality productivity, becoming the vanguard and main force in promoting the high-quality development of China's manufacturing industry. Statistics show that in 2023, the new quality productivity index saw a year-on-year growth of 5.30% in operating income and 11.73% in net profit attributable to shareholders, and it is expected to maintain sustained high-speed development in the future, driving social and economic progress. Leading the semiconductor equipment industry, NAURA Technology Group is committed to establishing an innovative talent development and incentive system that meets the requirements of new quality production development and gathers new forces for advancement with high-efficiency reform energy. It continues to escalate institutional mechanism reforms and innovatively use multiple approaches to continuously stimulate the innovative vitality and passion of value creators; applying the concept of "Career Community" for top-level design and systematically restructuring multi-level, sustainable medium- to long-term incentive mechanisms with "normalized incentive mechanism" and "differentiated incentive tools". In the field of new energy, BYD Company Limited deeply cultivates core technologies such as batteries, motors, and controllers for new energy vehicles, actively explores and develops technologies such as blade batteries, DM technology, CTB battery body integration, and cloud tracks, leading the industry's development. In 2023, BYD Company Limited sold 3.024 million new energy vehicles, ranking first in global new energy vehicle sales; as of the end of July 2024, BYD Company Limited's global sales of new energy vehicles exceeded 8 million, becoming a leading enterprise in the industry. VII. Practicing Investor Protection Mission with Multiple Measures The report shows that in 2023, the total dividends of listed companies in the high-end manufacturing industry reached 302.649 billion yuan, an increase from the previous year.In 2023, the dividend payout ratio of listed companies in the high-end manufacturing industry reached 37.91%, an increase of 4.52 percentage points compared to 2022. The highest dividend payout was in the power equipment industry, with a total of 78.612 billion yuan, while the total dividend payouts in the mechanical manufacturing and electronics industries both exceeded 45 billion yuan. The main reason for this is that the net profit levels of the power equipment, mechanical manufacturing, and electronics industries are among the top in the high-end manufacturing industry.In the fiscal year 2023, the total amount of shares repurchased by listed companies in the high-end manufacturing industry was 43.269 billion RMB. The segment with the highest amount of shares repurchased was the power equipment industry, with a total of 10.841 billion RMB. The total amount of shares repurchased in the machinery manufacturing and electronics industry also exceeded 5 billion RMB. China's high-end manufacturing industry has made significant progress from scratch. Currently, China is at a critical period of transitioning from a "manufacturing power" to a "manufacturing powerhouse." Listed companies are earnestly implementing the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, promoting the development of high-end manufacturing industry with new productive forces, accelerating the cultivation and expansion of advanced manufacturing industry clusters, promoting the high-end, intelligent, and green development of the manufacturing industry, accelerating scientific research and solving bottleneck problems, building independent and controllable industrial and supply chains, and achieving high-quality development of the high-end manufacturing industry. This article is excerpted from the China Listed Companies Association, edited by GMTEight: Chen Wenfang.