The A-share equity financing market has delivered impressive results with a strong growth trend. According to Wind data, as of August 12th, a total of 183 listed companies in the A-share market have completed equity financing this year, raising a total of over 830 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of over 300%. Among them, the IPO market continues to rebound, with 63 companies raising a total of 64.392 billion yuan in initial public offerings, approaching the level of the whole year of 2024. At the same time, market concentration has further increased, with CITIC Securities, Guotai Haitong, and CITIC Construction Investment accounting for a total underwriting amount of 53.01%. Industry insiders believe that policy dividends such as the restart of the fifth set of standards for the Science and Technology Innovation Board and the implementation of new regulations on mergers and acquisitions continue to be released, injecting new momentum into securities firms' investment banking business and further improving the quality and efficiency of capital market services for the real economy. According to Wind data (measured by listing date), as of August 12th, a total of 183 listed companies in the A-share market have completed equity financing this year, raising a total of 832.873 billion yuan, a significant increase of 363.85% compared to the same period last year. In the composition of equity financing, the IPO market continues its growth momentum. Since the beginning of this year, a total of 63 companies have gone public, raising a total of 64.392 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 21.15%, approaching the full year of 2024's 67.353 billion yuan. It is worth noting that the concentration of equity underwriting business has significantly increased since the beginning of this year, and the leading advantage of top securities firms has further expanded. According to Wind data, CITIC Securities ranks first in the market with an equity underwriting amount of 175.968 billion yuan; Guotai Haitong followed closely, with an underwriting amount of 127076 billion yuan; China CITIC Securities ranks third with a total investment of 100.097 billion yuan. The combined market share of these three top securities firms reached 53.01%, further increasing the concentration compared to the top three firms (CITIC Securities, Huatai United, and CITIC Construction Investment) with a combined market share of 40.20% in the same period last year. The competitive landscape in the IPO underwriting field has also undergone new changes. China International Capital Corporation (CICC) rose to the top spot with an initial underwriting scale of 12.538 billion yuan; China CITIC Securities ranked second with 10.049 billion yuan; Huatai United ranks third with 9.767 billion yuan. The combined market share of these three top securities firms is 50.49%, with China International Capital Corporation (CICC) holding 19.57% of the market share, indicating a significant head effect. In addition, in the debt underwriting market, CITIC Securities still maintains an absolute lead, with an underwriting amount of 1328.089 billion yuan; China CITIC Securities and Guotai Haitong ranked second and third with 997.533 billion yuan and 922.716 billion yuan respectively. The combined market share of these three top securities firms is 33.70%. The number of IPO acceptance companies has increased significantly year-on-year. According to Wind data, as of August 12th, the number of IPO acceptance companies this year has reached 181, a year-on-year increase of 364.10% compared to the 39 companies in the same period of 2024. The market has shown a significant recovery trend. From the perspective of sector distribution characteristics, the Beijing Stock Exchange has become the core sector for IPO acceptance. Among the 181 accepted companies, the Beijing Stock Exchange dominates 116, accounting for a high proportion of 64.09%. The number of applications accepted by the Science and Technology Innovation Board, ChiNext Board, Shenzhen Stock Exchange Main Board, and Shanghai Stock Exchange Main Board are 22, 21, 13, and 9, respectively. In terms of geographical distribution (by registered location), Zhejiang Province, Guangdong Province, and Jiangsu Province rank among the top, with 35, 35, and 29 IPO accepting companies respectively. The total number of IPO accepted companies in the three provinces mentioned above is 99, accounting for 54.70%. It is worth noting that among the 22 companies accepted on the Science and Technology Innovation Board, 7 companies have negative net profits in 2024, namely Moore Thread, Muxi Co., Ltd., Shanghai Chaosi, Zhaoxin Integration, Tenno Mabo, Shiya Technology, and Angruiwei. Recently, Wu Qing, Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, stated at the 2025 Lujiazui Forum that he will continue to strengthen the leading role of the Science and Technology Innovation Board and accelerate the launch of a package of deepening reform measures with the "1+6" system as the core. Yuan Chuang, Chief Economist and General Manager of the Research and Development Center at Caixin Securities, stated that the fifth set of listing standards for the Science and Technology Innovation Board does not set thresholds for a company's revenue and net profit, but only requires an estimated market value of no less than RMB 4 billion. With the re application of this standard this year, the inclusiveness and adaptability of the A-share market to unprofitable enterprises have been substantially improved, which will promote technology companies with development potential but not profitable to enter the A-share market. According to Wind data, a new engine for private placement and restructuring businesses, as of August 12th, 95 A-share listed companies have implemented private placement this year, raising a total of 727.922 billion yuan, a significant increase of 537.47% year-on-year. In terms of the amount of funds raised through private placements, there are four listed companies with actual fundraising amounts of over 100 billion yuan, all of which are bank stocks, namely Bank of China, Postal Savings Bank of China, Bank of Communications, and Construction Bank. The purpose of private placements is to supplement working capital. In the view of AVIC Securities, securities firms, as the core participants in the private placement market, will face multiple business opportunities. On the one hand, as the lead underwriter, the securities investment banking business will directly benefit from the expansion of underwriting scale, driving a significant increase in related revenue; On the other hand, securities firms with strong capital strength can participate in the strategic allocation of high-quality targets through their own funds or asset management products, and lay out when the market valuation is at a historical low, which is expected to achieve excess investment returns in the future. The active participation of securities firms in the targeted issuance of shares by listed companies has multiple positive implications. It can not only create value for itself, but also effectively serve the real economy and promote the healthy development of the capital market. For private placements aimed at industrial mergers and acquisitions, the financial support of securities firms can promote the integration of industrial chain resources, enhance market competitiveness, and facilitate economic transformation and upgrading. On the policy level, on June 18th, the China Securities Regulatory Commission launched the "1+6" policy measures to further deepen reform, and issued the "Opinions on Establishing a Science and Technology Innovation Growth Layer on the Science and Technology Innovation Board to Enhance Institutional Inclusiveness and Adaptability" for implementation. Open Source Securities believes that as intermediary institutions, securities firms benefit from capital market reform policies in their business development while fulfilling their responsibilities as "gatekeepers" of the capital market. After the implementation of the "1+6" policy, the margin for IPOs on the Science and Technology Innovation Board has relaxed, which is beneficial for the development of securities firms, investment banks, and PE direct investment businesses. In addition, the China Securities Regulatory Commission revised and released the "Management Measures for Major Asset Restructuring of Listed Companies" in the first half of the year, which moderately lowered the threshold for mergers and acquisitions from the core aspects of merger and acquisition entities, investors, transaction consideration, review procedures, lock up periods, etc., and improved transaction efficiency and convenience. Dongxing Securities believes that mergers and acquisitions have a relatively small impact on market liquidity and are expected to become a key increment for securities firms' investment banking business due to the continued policy tilt. Especially for top securities firms, relying on sufficient project resources, strong pricing power, and channel advantages in connecting with various institutional investors, they are expected to occupy a favorable position in the competition of mergers and acquisitions, and quickly alleviate or even reverse the overall decline in investment banking revenue. (New Society)