The trading floor of the Shanghai Stock Exchange in Shanghai Photo: CFP

The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and its subsidiaries have waived fees for companies in 2022, according to a notice published by the SSE over the weekend, representing the greatest level of support offered to listed companies since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The move is aimed at supporting the development of the real economy, stimulating the vitality of market players and reducing costs, the exchange said in the notice on Saturday night. 

The move is estimated to reduce 80 million yuan ($12.6 million) in exchange fees for listed companies, market observers noted.

According to the notice, the SSE will waive initial and annual listing fees for 2022 for listed companies with inventory and incremental stocks in Shanghai. Some service fees, including for 2022 Annual CA certificates, will also be waived.

The SSE and its subsidiaries will arrange refunds for companies that had already paid the fees.

The move came after China's top financial watchdog pledged to bolster steady economic growth and capital market development in a widely noted meeting on March 16.

The meeting said that the central government would introduce favorable policies to shore up the equities market, while communicating with supervisory departments in advance about new policies that may affect the capital market.

The SSE's move is another practical measure to stimulate market vitality and implement tax and fee cuts, a senior research fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China told the Global Times on Sunday.

It is expected that broader tax and fee cuts will follow the 80 million yuan of reductions to strengthen the vitality of market entities and further alleviate the financial burden on businesses, especially the catering, transportation and tourism industries, which have been hit hard by the pandemic, the analyst said.

So far this year, the SSE has waived fees for listed companies in areas most affected by the virus, including Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, East China's Shandong Province, and Northeast China's Jilin Province.

So far this year, the exchange has reduced the fees for various market players by a total of 120 million yuan.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission on Sunday announced plans for near-term policy measures to broaden the bond financing channels of private enterprises, in a bid to boost the quality development of the private economy.

The Chinese government cut 1.1 trillion yuan worth of taxes and administrative fees in 2021, strongly supporting the sustained and stable recovery of the economy. Tax payments of 216.2 billion yuan for small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises were deferred.

Global Times