ChiNext

ChiNext is China's second board stock exchange, launched in 2009 as a NASDAQ-style venue for growth-oriented and innovative companies, and later became a testbed for registration-based IPO reforms. Per a 2020 analysis by Li Feng of 5Y Capital, ChiNext's 2020 registration-based reform lowered listing barriers for startups, allowed special share structures and red-chip companies to list, and reserved space for unprofitable enterprises—directly expanding early-stage investors' exit channels . The exchange emphasizes "three innovations and four new elements" (innovation, creation, creativity; new technology, new industry, new business models, new formats) and maintains a negative list excluding traditional sectors like agriculture, mining, and construction unless they demonstrate tech-driven transformation . In the exchange hierarchy, ChiNext sits between the STAR Market's hard-tech focus and the Beijing Stock Exchange's earlier-stage SME orientation, offering a middle path for companies with proven models seeking public-market visibility .