China Star Market

China Star Market is the STAR Market, China's science and technology innovation board launched on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2019. It was created as a registration-based IPO venue to serve high-tech and strategically innovative companies that previously struggled to list under China's older profitability-focused approval system .

The board operates with markedly more inclusive listing standards than traditional A-share markets. Where mainland boards historically required companies to show roughly RMB 50 million in pre-IPO profit, the STAR Market introduced five market-cap-based standards—allowing pre-revenue firms (at valuations above RMB 4 billion) and loss-making companies to go public, a structure designed specifically for sectors like innovative drug development . It also permits dual-class share structures and red-chip company listings, both historically blocked on mainland exchanges .

In its first year, the STAR Market averaged IPO valuations of 69x earnings, with post-listing gains averaging 150% from offer price; roughly 40% of listings raised over RMB 1 billion, sums that comparable companies could not achieve on older boards . The审核周期 also compressed dramatically—to roughly six months, versus 400+ days under the approval system—putting it in line with US and Hong Kong timelines .

The board's creation came amid specific economic pressure: 2018 GDP growth had decelerated to decade lows, and US-China trade tensions were exposing vulnerabilities in China's high-tech supply chains. The STAR Market was positioned explicitly to address "autonomous industrial chain security and technological innovation" in service of national strategy . By 2024-2025, policy attention had shifted to reopening pathways for unprofitable tech listings on the board, after a 2023 tightening cycle that slowed IPO velocity across all exchanges .

Related coverage: The Beijing Stock Exchange, launched 2021, operates as a separate venue for smaller innovative firms .