The 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China marks a crucial stage in the noble mission of national rejuvenation. The third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee, held in July, ushered in a new stage of reform to further advance Chinese-style modernization. Regarding the capital market, the plenum laid out a clear path to further advance the reforms to effectively serve the key sectors in the national development strategy.

China’s capital market was born in the early stages of the reform and opening-up. Over the past decades, the market has grown and developed in tandem with the reform and opening-up. Now, the capital market is about to embark on a new round of holistic reform to implement the comprehensive strategy launched by the third plenary session. It should be noted that the capital market was mentioned multiple times in the Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization, adopted at the third plenary session.

The third plenary session has set the tone for economic development for years to come. The third plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee in 2013 ushered in the era of comprehensive reform, which brought about historical changes in many aspects, reshaping and reconstructing the whole of society across the country.

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In this context, China International Capital Corporation Limited (CICC), as a State-owned financial institution, has taken its responsibility to fulfill its mission. CICC is dedicated to becoming a first-class international investment bank.

Aligned with government development strategies in key sectors of the national economic landscape, CICC is committed to being visionary in its research into facilitating financial services sectors, which play a vital role in modernization. CICC is also focused on developing a series of forward-looking business plans to improve its professional performance globally and better serve the real economy nationally.

The capital market has huge potential to serve the real economy, especially in supporting scientific and technological innovation and nurturing new quality productive forces. Therefore, the “five major sectors” in the financial industry, namely fintech, green finance, inclusive finance, pension finance, and digital finance, deserve unremitting efforts.

Embracing fintech, CICC has seized the opportunities created by the reform of the registration-based IPO system. It had provided in-depth financing services to the “key and core technology enterprises” through a three-pronged approach of “investment”, “investment banking”, and “research”.

CICC supports the listing and financing of strategic emerging industries, cutting-edge technologies, and enterprises that use special and sophisticated technologies to produce novel and unique products on the SSE Sci-Tech Innovation Board (STAR Market), the ChiNext Board, and the Beijing Stock Exchange. CICC channels capital resources into the science and technology innovation sector. Thus, CICC supports the development of China’s science and technology innovation industry with its professional know-how in the fintech sector by utilizing growth funds and Funds of Funds.

In terms of green finance, CICC actively supports equity financing in the green industry, promotes the issuance of green bonds and carbon-neutral bonds, and participates in green industry M&A and restructuring. CICC has facilitated the innovation of green financial products and services to accelerate green development towards a low-carbon transformation.

Regarding inclusive finance, CICC has stepped up its services to small and medium-sized enterprises, assisting them in direct financing through various channels including IPOs, bond issuance, and asset securitization. Meanwhile, CICC has accelerated the transformation of wealth management with the “buyer investment advisory” at its core, taking the initiative to guide individual clients to seek wealth accumulation through leveraging medium- and long-term asset allocation.

In terms of pension finance, CICC has taken the initiative to channel financial resources into the pension-related industry. Since 2024, CICC has supported many healthcare industry projects in going public, selling assets, and introducing strategic investors. At the same time, it has actively supported the development of pension finance by introducing asset management products and personal pension services.

In terms of digital finance, CICC has played a key role in supporting digital enterprises. For the first half of 2024, CICC recorded a deal size of nearly 19 billion yuan ($2.7 billion) to list digital enterprises. On the other hand, by riding on the megatrend of the accelerated integration of digital technology and financial services, CICC accelerated the application of cutting-edge digital technology in financial scenarios, further advancing digital transformation and unlocking the value of data assets.

It is clear from the above that the nation attaches great importance to the capital market. CICC, therefore, must focus on the tasks and objectives of the new era of reform and remain faithful to the implementation of financial sector reform. In order to build first-class investment institutions, CICC and other financial institutions should strive for high-quality development to best serve the national strategies and the real economy through three approaches.

First, providing high-quality financial services to facilitate economic and social development by aligning with national strategies. Over the years, CICC has adhered to serving the real economy and keeping in line with national development strategies. Therefore, with a vision for a better future, the company has researched key areas and mapped out strategies for business development. By focusing on the “five major sectors” in the financial industry, CICC has played a pivotal role in optimizing the allocation of resources to promote key areas such as sci-tech innovation, industrial upgrading, green development, and SMEs, effectively cultivating new quality productive forces.

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Second, being client-focused and dedicated to improving professional services in every aspect of the financial industry. As an all-inclusive financial intermediary service provider, we serve companies in the real economy by leveraging the capital market and individual clients by preserving and growing household wealth through wealth and asset management services. Professionalism is, therefore, the key to the survival and success of a financial institution.

Third, acing up its competitiveness in the global market. For decades, CICC has taken a strong foothold in Hong Kong as the gateway between the Chinese mainland and the rest of the world. It has endeavored to provide the best possible cross-border financial services in the global financial markets. In this regard, it has increasingly invested resources in emerging markets along the Belt and Road Initiative such as Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Thanks to its ever-expanding business landscape, successful Chinese companies and international investors could rely on CICC for their cross-border capital flows, which in turn played its part in the state’s high-standard opening-up.

In all, CICC should channel multiple resources into new quality productive forces, faithfully perform its duty as the “gatekeeper” of the capital market, and make solid progress in fulfilling the “five major sectors” in the financial industry. CICC is committed to helping build China into an economic powerhouse and contributing its share to China’s modernization drive, promoting the true story of China far and wide.

The author is chairman of China International Capital Corp Ltd.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.