Securities firms are racing to differentiate their layouts in the North Exchange! Diversified layouts, four categories of business in full force.

Reviewing the development of investment banking business in the first half of 2025, in the equity business sector, the layout of securities firms in the North Exchange has become the most attention-grabbing highlight. It is worth noting that the differentiation competition strategy of securities firms in the North Exchange is not limited to investment banking business, but extends to market-making, research, alternative investments, and other business areas, forming a multi-dimensional layout trend. Looking at the trend of industry development background, the differentiation path of the securities camp is becoming increasingly clear. Large securities firms rely on strong capital strength, comprehensive business structure, leading innovation capabilities, and comprehensive risk management to excel and strengthen; while characteristic small and medium-sized securities firms focus on the North Exchange, the Growth Enterprise Market ("Gem") "specialization and new" direction, taking a boutique, regional, and specialized route. Under the solid guidance of the "five major articles" policy guidance, the industry actively develops inclusive finance to promote the development of small and medium-sized enterprises. At the same time, there have been several important mergers and acquisitions cases in the industry that have made significant progress, with integration steps accelerating. Some institutions believe that in the future, there may be a diversified pattern of development with large securities companies, medium-sized boutique securities companies, and regional securities companies, all serving different participants in the multi-level capital market. From the current business layout of securities firms in the North Exchange, this multi-dimensional pattern has already begun to emerge. The influence of the "differentiated layout in North Exchange" has extended beyond the scope of investment banking business and penetrated into the entire chain of securities business, becoming an important manifestation of industry differentiation development, which can be clearly observed from the following four major business features. Firstly, in the first half of 2025, the New Third Board market continued to improve and expand significantly, with 158 new listed companies, accelerating the synergy with the North Exchange and continuing to attract "specialized and innovative" companies to gather in this market. In this context, securities firms' layout of North Exchange IPO business generally chooses to cultivate from the New Third Board listed companies, emphasizing both business synergies and solid project reserves, presenting diversified competition dynamics among different tiers of securities firms. Top securities firms have solidified their leading positions in the market with their comprehensive service capabilities. CITIC SEC, China Securities Co., Ltd., Huatai, Shenwan Hongyuan Group Securities, and Guolian Minsheng Securities all rank first in core indicators such as the scale of equity underwriting in the North Exchange, the number of projects under review, the quality of reserve projects, rankings in practice quality evaluation, and the number of listed companies on the New Third Board, confirming their leadership positions in the North Exchange and New Third Board markets in multiple statistical dimensions. Medium to large securities firms are actively increasing their business scale and project reserves. Guosen, Sinolink, and Industrial have stated their intentions to enhance their business volumes in the North Exchange and New Third Board, as well as to expand the number of reserve companies; Soochow, with over a decade of experience in the New Third Board market, has successfully launched multiple North Exchange "first-time" projects, establishing a leading edge in the industry, having listed 9 companies on the New Third Board (5th in the industry) during the reporting period, and supervising 275 companies (3rd in the industry) continuously, demonstrating strong business capabilities. It is worth noting that several small and medium-sized securities firms have become highlights in the North Exchange investment banking business with their distinctive approaches. These include leading multiple business lines through investment banking, developing a complete project reserve system for companies, extending financial advisory services to the New Third Board, focusing on regional markets, and reforming the investment banking structure. Since 2021, Open Source Securities has strategically positioned itself in the North Exchange and New Third Board markets, striving to build a "first-class North Exchange boutique securities firm" and the best comprehensive financial service provider for small and medium-sized enterprises. Leveraging the North Exchange sponsorship listing and the New Third Board listing as the cornerstone, it has opened up the comprehensive financial service industry chain across the two markets. As of the end of last year, the company ranked first for the seventh consecutive year in terms of the number of newly recommended listed companies, overseeing a total of 719 companies, of which 244 are in the innovation tier, ranking first in the industry. The company's layout in the North Exchange business is not just reflected in the investment banking business but is leveraged as an advantage to lead and drive other business lines synergistically. By the end of the reporting period, First Securities has completed a total of 124 recommended listing projects and continues to supervise 101 listed companies. Among them, 32 are innovative tier companies, accounting for 31.68% of the total number. Different from most securities firms, the company's financial advisory business also targets the New Third Board segment. It has selected a group of "specialized and innovative" companies and high-quality enterprises with industry competitive advantages as key projects for tracking and promotion, enriching its project reserves. Caida is committed to building a distinctive and excellent boutique investment bank brand, deeply rooted in Hebei. By constructing a "comprehensive and one-stop" integrated financial service system and solidifying its leadership position in regional investment banking, the company synergizes efforts across multiple segmented business areas, including the listing and trading business. During the reporting period, it supervised 25 New Third Board companies in the province, maintaining its top ranking. In the reporting period, Caitong's continuous supervision of the New Third Board remained at the top in the province, focusing on existing customers. The company has comprehensively reviewed existing customers, continuously improved customer service strategies, built a full-cycle project reserve system covering enterprise start-ups, growth, and listing stages, exploring a replicable system for cultivating high-tech and specialized new businesses, and establishing normalized business coordination with branch offices inside and outside the province to promote efficient integration of resources within the group and beyond. Northeast consolidated its advantages in the North Exchange business during the reporting period. By the end of the reporting period, the company had three first North Exchange projects under review and completed a total of eight North Exchange first projects, ranking 10th in the industry; it had achieved 369 New Third Board listings, tied for 10th place in the industry; and supervised 162 New Third Board listed companies, ranking 9th in the industry. Similar to First Securities, the company's financial advisory business also includes the New Third Board, completing nine financial advisory projects by the end of the reporting period. Dongxing implemented a restructuring of its investment banking business in the first half of the year, transitioning from a team-based to a project-based business management approach. The results of the Securities Regulatory Commission's second-quarter evaluation of securities firms showed that the company ranked 3rd among the 103 participating firms in terms of practice quality. It aims to further strengthen its business reserves in the North Exchange. Secondly, in actively implementing the "five major articles" in financial practice to improve secondary market liquidity, the New Third Board and the North Exchange market-making transactions have become key focal points for business. In the first half of the year, the New Third Board market continued to improve and expand, and with the more accessible "New Third Board - North Exchange" listing path, securities firms' market-making business also rapidly developed, opening up space for development in other business areas through synergies. Since the introduction of the market-making mechanism in the North Exchange, securities firms have actively applied for related market-making business qualifications, including Hongta and Caida. Guoyuan's North Exchange market-making business was successfully launched during the reporting period, achieving a key breakthrough in the categories of market-making businesses. In terms of business layout, top and medium to large securities firms are focusing their core efforts on the North Exchange market-making track, pushing for industry leadership: By the end of the reporting period, Galaxy Securities was ranked 4th in the North Exchange market-making industry, the same as on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board. GF SEC continued to maintain its position in the top tier of the market and officially started market-making business for Sci-Tech Innovation Board, North Exchange stocks, and 40 New Third Board enterprises. Sinolink's performance in the North Exchange market-making track was particularly outstanding, with a total of 60 North Exchange market-making stocks and ranking first in the number of market-making businesses in the North Exchange market. In the reporting period, the company's quarterly market-making comprehensive evaluation for the North Exchange ranked 2nd in the industry. It is worth noting that Sinolink is one of the few securities firms that has clearly disclosed plans for the second half of the year in the market-making business. The company aims to steadily expand the number of market-making businesses while maintaining its existing scale, striving to maintain a leading position in the North Exchange market-making business ranking. By leveraging the leading effect of the North Exchange market-making business, it will actively promote synergies with the company's stock exchange listing business, North Exchange sponsorship and refinancing business, and transfer business to provide more comprehensive financial services to customers. Orient focuses on stock market-making business, providing market-making services for Sci-Tech Innovation Board, New Third Board, and North Exchange small and medium enterprises. The North Exchange market-making projects are running steadily, carefully selecting high-quality targets to participate in market-making and strategic allocations with significantly higher returns than the BSE 50 Index. In the second half of the year, the company will focus on enhancing research capabilities, further expanding coverage of Sci-Tech Innovation Board and North Exchange companies, and deepening research into market-making strategies. Soochow maintains a top-tier ranking as a North Exchange market maker. In terms of alternative investment business, actively seeking North Exchange battle quotas. Unlike the top securities firms, small and medium-sized securities firms choose the New Third Board market-making as the core focus and take a differentiated development path, with some institutions even entering the top tier of the industry: Guoyuan's New Third Board market-making business adheres to the principle of "returning to the origin," with trading capabilities remaining in the top tier of the industry; First Securities opts for developing promising enterprises as market-making targets, with 22 New Third Board market-making companies listed as of the half-yearly report, ranking 14th in the industry, including 18 in the innovation tier, accounting for 81.82%. Southwest's market-making business focuses on the New Third Board, providing liquidity for market-making stocks through active participation in match transactions; Hongta's New Third Board market-making trading aims to maintain stability, having provided market-making services to 24 listed companies by the half-yearly report, ranking 20th in terms of service numbers; the company has also applied for North Exchange market-making qualifications, passed the inspection, and still needs to apply to the Securities Regulatory Commission. Caida's performance in the New Third Board market-making business is also remarkable. In the evaluations of market-making firms by the National Equities Exchange and Quotations Company in the first and second quarters of 2025, the company entered the top 20% in both rankings and qualified for fee reduction in market-making transactions. At the same time, the company is progressing in its application for North Exchange market-making business qualifications. Northeast has become a standout player among small and medium securities firms in market-making business, striving to become a major market-making securities firm with industry influence. In the reporting period, the company continued to improve its research system for market-making businesses, enhance asset quality, optimize portfolio structure, and actively invest in internal driven growth, focusing on "specialized and innovative" targets with strong internal growth dynamics and meeting national industrial upgrading needs. By the end of the reporting period, the company had supervised 71 market-making companies, ranking first in market-making numbers in the Equities Exchange system; in the evaluations of market-making firms released by the National Equities Exchange and Quotations Company in the first and second quarters of 2025, the company remained in the top five, further consolidating its market competitiveness and brand awareness in market-making business. Thirdly, the research capabilities of securities firms targeting North Exchange companies are continually improving. Based on the comprehensive half-year report of securities firms, the research strengths of large securities firms have been highlighted through industry rankings, and small and medium securities firms are increasingly focusing on research layouts for North Exchange companies. Among the top securities firms, Shenwan Hongyuan Group's research institute has achieved multiple industry rankings, securing the second-best North Exchange company research team, the fourth-best in the energy and materials industry research team, the fifth-best in the financial industry research team, the seventh-best in the technology industry research team, and the eighth-best in the consumer industry research team. Small and medium securities firms are strengthening their research capabilities for North Exchange companies through specialized layouts, with Open Source Securities being a typical representative. Open Source Securities' North Exchange Research Center is the industry's first research center focusing on the North Exchange and New Third Board, covering market strategies, thematic strategies, five unique industries of the North Exchange, and nearly 20 sub-industries and new quality productivity industry chains. In a decade of research, it has covered nearly 200 North Exchange and New Third Board companies, with over 130 North Exchange companies under in-depth tracking, achieving full coverage of new stocks. Fourthly, looking at the first half of the year, the improvement in North Exchange liquidity and the increase in the valuation of listed companies have led to double-digit growth in income and profits from alternative investment business, prompting some institutions to focus on other businesses and actively participate in the distribution of small and medium enterprises. EB Securities has clearly outlined its focus for the second half of the year in equity investment business, emphasizing growth and innovation, actively expanding North Exchange strategic allocation and listed company private placements, among other new businesses. First Securities' half-year report shows that the company cautiously increased its primary market equity investment business in the New Third Board and North Exchange strategic placement business. The investment scale also focused on enterprises with core technological advantages and competitiveness in line with future economic development trends. Through its subsidiary Shou Zheng Ze Fu, the company has invested in 89 projects with its own funds, totaling 706.65 million yuan. First Capital focuses on equity management business, positioning itself in listed company private placements and North Exchange strategic allocations. From the results of business execution, its asset management products have successfully obtained allocations in private placements and North Exchange strategic allocation projects. This article was originally published on "CaiLian News" and edited by Liu Jiayin for GMT8.