At the end of the year, the new normal of IPOs is emerging, with the number of filings for guidance and registration rebounding, making the North Exchange a new hot spot for securities firms to deploy.

Welcoming the new year, IPO is showing more new trends. Not only did the number of companies reaching their lowest at the end of the year, but the increase in the number of companies accepted for listing has also become another major indicator. According to Wind data, the number of IPO applications accepted this year has reached 49. Among them, there are 5 on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (0 on the main board, 5 on the sci-tech innovation board), 3 on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (2 on the main board, 1 on the SME board), and 41 on the Beijing Stock Exchange. Only 2 IPOs were terminated for withdrawal, namely the SME board IPO Aode Equipment and the Beijing Stock Exchange IPO Jindayu, sponsored by Guotou Securities and Capital respectively. Obviously, compared to the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges, the Beijing Stock Exchange has become a hot spot for IPOs, becoming the sector with the highest number of IPO applications accepted this year. Looking at it month by month, there were 1 in January, 1 in March, 28 in June, 2 in September, 2 in November, and 7 in December. December also became the second-highest month in terms of the number of IPO applications accepted since June. At the same time, according to the latest data from various sectors, December ended 10 IPOs, the lowest number of terminations in a month this year. Why does the Beijing Stock Exchange accept more companies? According to investment banking professionals, one reason is that compared to the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets, the listing criteria of the Beijing Stock Exchange are easier for small and medium-sized enterprises to meet, with lower listing thresholds and reduced competitive pressure. Second, according to policy guidance, the Beijing Stock Exchange will increase market access tolerance and vigorously attract and cultivate a batch of innovative small and medium-sized enterprises to list, supported by regulation. Another investment banking professional stated that the number of listed companies on the Beijing Stock Exchange is lower compared to the thousands on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges, indicating there is still room for incremental growth. As of now, there are a total of 261 listed companies on the Beijing Stock Exchange, compared to 2275 on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and 2847 on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. With the further enhancement of the Beijing Stock Exchange's attractiveness to companies, will the acceptance speed increase in the future? Will more securities firms expand their business on the Beijing Stock Exchange? The year-end acceptance market is warming up, and IPOs are embracing the new normal development. According to Wind data, since December, 45 companies have had their counseling filings accepted. Throughout the year, January and February were the peak periods for counseling filing acceptance, with 96 and 60 companies respectively. After February, the number of counseling filings for IPOs decreased by more than 50%, but by December, it had increased to 45 companies, indicating a gradual recovery of counseling filings, a situation that coincides with the new normal development that IPOs are facing. It is worth noting that the highest number of companies accepted in a single day in December was 7, which was the second highest daily acceptance number since 14 companies were accepted on January 8, setting a new high for the year. Not only did the number of companies accepted in December significantly increase, but looking at daily numbers, there were also remarkable records set. Among the proposed companies accepted for listing in December, 25 IPOs disclosed their proposed listing sectors. Out of these, 24 came from the Beijing Stock Exchange, with only 1 from the SME board, making up 96% of the total. Not only in December, but the Beijing Stock Exchange has maintained a high number of accepted companies throughout the year. It can be said that with the formation of a new normal for IPOs, not only has the number of counseling filings warmed up in the year-end market, but the significant advantage in the number of companies accepted by the Beijing Stock Exchange may become a preferred choice for more small and medium-sized enterprises to list. In December, 7 IPOs from the Beijing Stock Exchange were accepted, making it the month with the highest number of accepted companies since June. The accepted companies are Taikaiying, Jingqiang Technology, Jielike Technology, Dingli Technology, Shanghang Technology, Qilong Marine, and Nongda Technology, sponsored by CMSC, Guoyuan, Guotai Junan, Western, Guotai Junan, Capital, and Sinolink respectively. Why is the acceptance market concentrated in the middle and end of the year? According to the head of an investment banking division of a South China securities firm, this is a natural phenomenon. This pattern is related to audit deadlines, as companies typically use the previous year-end financial report data for mid-year applications and the current year's semi-annual report data for year-end applications. It takes nearly 5-6 months from internal quality control audit by the securities firm to counseling acceptance. Therefore, June and December have become the two months with the highest number of counseling filings for companies. Moreover, there are also some objective reasons from the perspective of the companies. Considering the latest performance of the company, whether they have been penalized before acceptance, and based on the development of the company, the timing for starting counseling filing will be different. However, under the basic conditions, companies hope to apply as early as possible. 26 securities firms have accepted sponsorship projects, making the Beijing Stock Exchange more attractive. How do securities firms rank in terms of accepted projects? According to Wind data, a total of 26 securities firms have had sponsored projects accepted for listing this year. The top ten securities firms include Guotou Securities (6), Guotai Junan (5), Soochow (4), GF SEC (4), Sinolink (3), China Securities Co.,Ltd. (3), CMSC (2), Orient Underwriting & Sponsorship (2), Dongxing (2), and Capital (2). By sector, the number of accepted projects on the Beijing Stock Exchange totaled 41, accounting for 83.67%. Industry insiders analyze this situation by stating that not only is the Beijing Stock Exchange more attractive to listing companies, but its related business opportunities and profit space have also attracted more securities firms to increase their investment in the Beijing Stock Exchange in response to policy guidance. Which sponsorship agencies have seized the development opportunities of the Beijing Stock Exchange? The securities firms ranking high in the number of projects accepted by the Beijing Stock Exchange are Guotou Securities (5), Guotai Junan (4), Soochow (4), Sinolink (3), and GF SEC (3). Orient, Dongxing, Capital, and CMSC each had 2 accepted projects. There were a total of 14 sponsorship agencies with 1 accepted project each. It can be seen that some small and medium-sized securities firms have also made it to the top, occupying a certain share of the Beijing Stock Exchange market. Guotou Securities, as one of the early entrants into Beijing Stock Exchange business, ranks first in the number of new accepted projects on the Beijing Stock Exchange this year. The company stated that it will continue to increase its investment in the Beijing Stock Exchange business in the future, actively serving the country's innovative development strategy. In line with Guotou Securities' consistent layout, First Capital and China Great Wall have also recently mentioned in their investor relations activity records.Increase the issuance efforts of the North Stock Exchange and actively expand its business.Not only can we see the determination of securities firms in the activities recording form of investor relations, but also the strategic thinking of securities firms in the layout of the Beijing Stock Exchange next year was revealed at the 2025 strategy meeting. Kaiyuan Securities indicated that it will firmly focus on the strategic goals of "top-tier Beijing Stock Exchange characteristic securities firm" and "best comprehensive financial service provider for small and medium-sized enterprises", and firmly serve the real economy and small and medium-sized enterprises. After three years of development, under the guidance of policies, the Beijing Stock Exchange has deepened reforms, continuously improved market access inclusiveness, and improved the multi-level capital market service system. It has not only become the main base for serving innovative small and medium-sized enterprises, but also provided important support for their development. In the future, the Beijing Stock Exchange will continue to play a leading role in the multi-level capital market, strengthen the aggregation effect of "specialized and innovative" enterprises. By the end of the year, not only did the number of listed companies reach the lowest point of the year, but the number of applications also significantly increased, making the Beijing Stock Exchange the sector with the highest number of applications. How the IPO will continue to develop in the new normal in 2025 is also eagerly anticipated. This article is reprinted from Caixin Media. Edited by: Chen Wenfang.