CSRC releases | State Council Information Office holds press conference: Introducing the situation o

Press conference scene (Photo by Liu Jian)

Shou Xiaoli, Director of the Information Bureau of the State Council Information Office and Spokesperson:

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning! Welcome to the press conference of the State Council Information Office. Today we are very pleased to invite Mr. Wu Qing, Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Mr. Liao Min, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Li Zhong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, Mr. Zou Lan, member of the Party Committee of the People's Bank of China, and Mr. Xiao Yuanqi, Deputy Director of the Financial Supervision Administration, to introduce to you the situation of vigorously promoting the entry of medium- and long-term funds into the market and promoting the high-quality development of the capital market, and answer questions of concern to you.

Next, we would like to invite Mr. Wu Qing to give an introduction.

2025-01-23 09:03:30

Wu Qing (Photo by Xu Xiang)

Wu Qing, Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission:

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the media, good morning! The Spring Festival of the Year of the Snake is approaching, and we are very happy to meet again today at the State Council Information Office. I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy new year, and also take this opportunity to thank you for your long-term concern and support for the capital market! Today is the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month. According to the southern part, it is the Little New Year, and yesterday was the Little New Year in the north. Major events should not be left overnight, let alone the New Year, so we have to seize the day. Today's press conference is mainly held after the plenary meeting of the Central Financial Committee, and six ministries and commissions have issued the "Implementation Plan for Promoting the Entry of Medium- and Long-term Funds into the Market". A press release was issued yesterday afternoon. Today, at this press conference, I and the responsible comrades of the drafting departments of the "Implementation Plan", such as the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the People's Bank of China, and the Financial Regulatory Bureau, jointly introduced the background, main contents and related work of the "Implementation Plan" and answered questions of concern to everyone.

As we all know, medium- and long-term funds are an important professional investment force in the capital market, and are also the "ballast stone" and "stabilizer" to maintain the stable and healthy operation of the market. The Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core attaches great importance to the entry of medium- and long-term funds into the market. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee clearly proposed to improve the function of the capital market that coordinates investment and financing and support the entry of long-term funds into the market. The meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on September 26 last year and the subsequent Central Economic Work Conference both made very clear arrangements, emphasizing the need to stabilize the stock market, deepen the comprehensive reform of capital market investment and financing, and clear the bottlenecks for the entry of medium- and long-term funds into the market. At the end of September last year, the Central Financial Office and the China Securities Regulatory Commission jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Entry of Medium- and Long-Term Funds into the Market", which clarified the key work arrangements for promoting the entry of various types of medium- and long-term funds into the market and building a "long money and long investment" institutional environment. The release and implementation of the "Guiding Opinions" and the implementation of a package of incremental policies such as supporting capital market monetary policy tools have played a strong supporting role in market stability and promoted the market to stabilize and improve.

The "Implementation Plan" issued this time is not only another important measure to thoroughly implement the decision-making arrangements of the Party Central Committee on promoting the entry of medium- and long-term funds into the market, but also a refinement, deepening and specific implementation of the previous "Guiding Opinions". The "Implementation Plan" focuses on the bottlenecks of medium- and long-term funds such as public funds, commercial insurance funds, and pension funds entering the market, and proposes a series of more specific measures. It is based on the present and determines some specific and clear indicator requirements for various types of medium- and long-term funds to increase the actual scale and proportion of investment in A-shares; it also focuses on the long-term and makes some targeted institutional arrangements in terms of establishing an assessment system suitable for long-term investment, investment policies, and market ecological construction. It can be said that it is full of "dry goods". There are several key points:

First, increase the actual investment ratio. After careful research and demonstration, the specific arrangements for steadily increasing the scale and proportion of medium- and long-term funds invested in A-shares have been clarified. For public funds, it is clear that the market value of A-shares held by public funds will increase by at least 10% each year in the next three years. For commercial insurance funds, we will strive to use 30% of the annual new premiums of large state-owned insurance companies to invest in A-shares from 2025, which also means that at least hundreds of billions of long-term funds will be added to A-shares every year. The second batch of insurance funds' long-term stock investment pilot will be implemented in the first half of 2025, with a scale of no less than 100 billion yuan, and will be gradually expanded in the future.

Second, the assessment cycle has been extended. The short assessment cycle has been an important bottleneck that has restricted some medium- and long-term funds such as commercial insurance funds and annuity funds from expanding their A-share investments for many years. Implementing long-term assessments can effectively smooth out the impact of short-term market fluctuations on performance. Originally, it was long-term money, but it was difficult to invest in the long term if the assessment cycle was too short. By adjusting the assessment cycle, the stability of medium- and long-term fund investment behavior can be improved. This time, the "Implementation Plan" further proposed that public funds, state-owned commercial insurance companies, basic pension insurance funds, annuity funds, etc. should all fully establish and implement long-term assessments of more than three years, significantly reduce the assessment weight of the operating indicators of state-owned commercial insurance companies in the current year, and refine and clarify the long-term assessment arrangements of more than five years for the national social security fund. This is a very important institutional breakthrough for the entry of medium- and long-term funds into the market. It can be said that it has solved a problem that has been unsolved for many years. From the practical experience at home and abroad, this is also conducive to improving the investment returns of various types of medium- and long-term funds and achieving a win-win situation. For example, the National Social Security Fund is the most active real long-term fund in domestic stock investment. The average annualized return on investment in A-shares has reached 11.6% in more than 20 years since its establishment, which is very high. This is mainly due to the social security fund's adherence to value investment and long-term investment. The experience is worthy of serious summary and reference.

Third, we have further consolidated the joint force for implementing incremental policies. Vigorously guiding medium- and long-term funds into the market is a systematic project. In the process of formulating the Implementation Plan, the Central Financial Office strengthened overall coordination, and the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the People's Bank of China, the Financial Regulatory Bureau, the Social Security Fund Council and other departments worked closely with us to carry out work creatively and jointly promote the formation of these specific and powerful policy measures just introduced. This is also an important and long-term institutional reform. In the subsequent implementation process, we will continue to strengthen communication and cooperation and strengthen follow-up and effectiveness.

We believe that under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, and with the strong support of all parties, the implementation of the "Implementation Plan" will further enhance the equity allocation capabilities of medium- and long-term funds, steadily expand the scale of investment, improve the supply and structure of funds in the capital market, and consolidate the good situation of the capital market's recovery; it will also help medium- and long-term funds to increase long-term investment returns, better implement long-term investment, value investment, and rational investment concepts, and achieve a virtuous cycle of medium- and long-term fund value preservation and appreciation, stable and healthy operation of the capital market, and high-quality development of the real economy.

That’s all I have to say for now, thank you.

2025-01-23 09:29:20

Shou Xiaoli invites reporters to ask questions (Photo by Luan Haijun)

Shou Xiaoli:

Thank you, Chairman Wu Qing, for your introduction. Now we will start to ask questions. Please inform us of your news agency before asking questions.

2025-01-23 09:33:31

A reporter from China Business News asked a question (Photo by Liu Jian)

First Financial News Reporter:

We have seen that the Implementation Plan proposes to implement a long-term assessment of more than three years for state-owned commercial insurance companies. What are the considerations behind this? How will this requirement be implemented in the future? Thank you.

2025-01-23 09:34:27

Liao Min (Photo by Xu Xiang)

Liao Min, Vice Minister of Finance:

Thank you for your questions, good morning. Chairman Wu Qing just gave an introduction on this topic, and I will briefly add a supplementary explanation.

Implementing long-term assessment of the operating performance of state-owned commercial insurance companies is an important measure to promote insurance companies to use the capital market for medium- and long-term investment. First of all, from the perspective of the attributes of insurance funds, they are characterized by stable sources, large scale, and long repayment cycles. They are typical "investment long money" and are also important participants in the capital market. Insurance funds investing in the capital market is also a common practice and basic model internationally. Judging from the operation of funds of my country's large state-owned commercial insurance companies, there is still room for increasing investment in the capital market. Secondly, the high-quality development of the capital market also requires the participation of medium- and long-term investment funds, including more insurance funds, to reduce short-term fluctuations and enhance long-term development resilience; and the high-quality development of the capital market will also have a positive impact on the preservation and appreciation of medium- and long-term funds, including insurance funds.

In order to support insurance funds to increase their efforts to enter the market, the Ministry of Finance has been actively playing the role of "baton" in performance appraisal. In fact, in October 2023, the Ministry of Finance issued a notice on the long-term appraisal of state-owned commercial insurance companies, adopting a combination of long-term and short-term appraisal methods, and dividing the "net asset return rate" appraisal in the operating efficiency indicators of the performance evaluation method of commercial insurance companies into "current year" and "nearly three years", with each of these two accounting for 50% of the weight. The purpose of doing this is to guide state-owned commercial insurance companies to optimize asset allocation and focus on long-term investment returns.

Next, we will further promote the entry of insurance funds into the market and revise the long-term assessment system for state-owned commercial insurance companies in accordance with the requirements of the Implementation Plan.

First, we will further increase the long-term assessment weight of operating efficiency indicators. The long-term assessment weight of the "return on net assets" that I just introduced will be adjusted to no less than 60%. This will increase the flow of more medium- and long-term funds into the capital market, make the assessment cycle more compatible with the investment cycle of long-term funds, and further give play to the long-term capital attributes of insurance funds.

Second, implement long-term assessment of state-owned capital preservation and appreciation indicators. Through a combination of long-term and short-term assessment methods, we will encourage state-owned commercial insurance companies to increase their medium- and long-term investment efforts, achieve stable growth in owners' equity and preserve and increase the value of state-owned capital.

Third, we will promote state-owned commercial insurance companies to improve their investment management capabilities. We will encourage and guide state-owned commercial insurance companies to strengthen investment management and enhance their long-term fund operation capabilities.

We believe that this series of measures will help guide and promote state-owned commercial insurance companies to pay more attention to prudent operations, better carry out long-term investment and value investment, and more effectively play the role of insurance funds as a market "stabilizer" and economic "booster", injecting more impetus into the sustained and healthy development of my country's capital market. Thank you.

2025-01-23 09:34:45

Xinhua News Agency Xinhua Finance reporter asked a question (Photo by Liu Jian)

Xinhua News Agency Xinhua Finance Reporter:

Since September 26 last year, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee has proposed to "steadily advance the reform of public funds". Please introduce the progress of promoting the reform of public funds and increasing the scale and proportion of equity funds. Thank you.

2025-01-23 09:46:04

Wu Qing:

Thank you for your question. Public funds are indeed important institutional investors and buyer forces in the capital market. Through professional investment services, they help investors share the growth dividends of listed companies and promote the virtuous interaction between economic development and residents' wealth growth. In recent years, the public fund industry as a whole has maintained a steady development trend. The total scale has increased from 13 trillion yuan in 2019 to 33 trillion yuan at the end of last year. Among them, the scale of equity funds mainly focusing on stock investment has increased from 2.3 trillion yuan to 8.2 trillion yuan, and equity ETFs have exceeded 3 trillion yuan.

In recent years, affected by complex factors such as stock market fluctuations, especially in the past two years, some equity funds have suffered certain losses, and the public fund industry has also exposed problems such as deviations in business philosophy, defects in corporate governance, and short-term investment behavior. In accordance with the deployment of the Central Political Bureau meeting on September 26 last year on steadily advancing the reform of public funds, the China Securities Regulatory Commission adheres to the people-centered value orientation, deeply examines and analyzes the outstanding problems in the public fund industry, and after careful research and demonstration, puts forward some targeted reform measures, and has now formed a preliminary reform plan. The overall consideration is:

First, improve the governance and positioning of fund companies. Strengthen the Party's overall leadership over the fund industry, further improve the governance of fund companies, promote the diligence of shareholders, boards of directors, and management, and firmly establish an investor-oriented business philosophy. Systematically reform the industry assessment and evaluation system, and comprehensively strengthen long-term performance assessment. The requirements in this regard are consistent with what Minister Liao just said, that is, to extend the assessment cycle. Further improve the incentive and constraint mechanism and the salary management system, focus on strengthening the binding of the interests of fund companies, senior executives, fund managers and investors, prevent the emergence of an operating tendency that focuses on scale and ignores returns, and avoid the one-sided pursuit of scale and not paying attention to investor returns. It is necessary to further steadily reduce the comprehensive fee rate of public funds. On the basis of the already reduced fund management fee rate, custody fee rate, and transaction fee rate, the fund sales fee rate will be further reduced from 2025, which is expected to save investors about 45 billion yuan in total each year. This is a real saving for investors.

Second, we will strengthen the function and vigorously develop equity funds. As mentioned earlier, the Implementation Plan specifies that the market value of A-shares held by public funds will increase by at least 10% each year in the next three years. The reform of public funds will help achieve such a goal of 10% growth each year. We will do the following four things in the reform of public funds. The first is to launch more products that meet the needs of investors, increase the innovation of medium and low volatility products, and realize the transition of floating rate product pilots to regular. The second is to accelerate the development of index investment, formulate an action plan to promote the high-quality development of index investment, implement a fast registration mechanism for stock ETF products, and in principle complete the registration within 5 working days from the date of acceptance, so as to further facilitate the investment market of various types of medium and long-term funds. The third is to strengthen the guidance of regulatory classification evaluation, increase the weight of indicators such as the proportion of equity fund scale and long-term performance in regulatory classification evaluation, and guide fund companies to purchase their equity funds with a certain proportion of their annual profits. The fourth is to urge the improvement of core investment and research capabilities, establish a fund company investment and research capability evaluation system, guide fund companies to strengthen the construction of core investment and research capabilities, and effectively improve the asset allocation and risk management capabilities of major categories.

Third, strengthen supervision and law enforcement to effectively protect the interests of investors. Improve laws and regulations in key areas such as shareholder equity, personnel management, and market exit. Strengthen guidance and constraints on fund investment and trading behaviors, resolutely correct excessive speculative behaviors such as "high turnover rate" and "style drift", increase the intensity of investigation and punishment of illegal and irregular behaviors, severely crack down on all kinds of illegal and irregular behaviors in fund investment, strengthen social supervision of fund companies' information disclosure, and further create a clean and upright industry culture.

At present, the CSRC is further strengthening its research and listening to opinions and suggestions on the reform plan from various parties including industry institutions and investors, and will also speed up the revision and improvement and implement it as soon as possible. Thank you.

2025-01-23 09:46:53

The Paper reporter asked a question (Photo by Liu Jian)

The Paper Reporter:

We know that insurance funds have long maturities and are important institutional investors. I would like to ask what considerations the Financial Regulatory Administration has in guiding insurance funds into the market? Thank you.

2025-01-23 09:54:48

Xiao Yuanqi (Photo by Xu Xiang)

Xiao Yuanqi, Deputy Director of the Financial Supervision Administration:

Thank you very much for your concern and attention to the insurance industry. We know that in September 2024, the State Council issued the "Several Opinions on Strengthening Supervision, Preventing Risks and Promoting High-Quality Development of the Insurance Industry", and I also interpreted it here for everyone. The "Several Opinions" proposed to "give full play to the long-term investment advantages of insurance funds. Cultivate real patient capital and promote a virtuous cycle of funds, capital and assets." The Financial Regulatory Bureau resolutely implements the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, and continues to guide insurance funds to increase investment in the stock market. At present, the amount of insurance funds invested in stocks and equity funds has exceeded 4.4 trillion yuan.

From the perspective of the use of insurance funds, the capital market and unlisted company equity are the main investment directions. Currently, stock and equity fund investment accounts for 12%, and unlisted company equity investment accounts for 9%. The two items add up to 21%. This reflects the advantages and determination of insurance funds as patient capital and long-term capital in long-term investment.

Insurance companies still have great potential and space to invest in stocks, and increasing stock investment is also a relatively good strategy and choice for the current asset allocation of insurance funds. We will further optimize and improve the relevant policies on insurance fund investment, encourage insurance funds to steadily increase the proportion of investment in the stock market, especially large state-owned insurance companies should play the role of "leader", strive to use 30% of the annual new premiums for stock market investment, and strive to continue to steadily increase the proportion of insurance funds invested in the stock market on the existing basis, that is, "two efforts", give full play to the positive role of insurance funds as institutional investors in long-term investment and value investment.

Thank you for your question.

2025-01-23 09:55:00

A reporter from China Central Television (CCTV) asked a question (Photo by Liu Jian)

CCTV reporter from China Central Radio and Television:

The "Implementation Plan" proposes to continuously optimize the investment ecology of the capital market. What are the specific tasks in this regard?

2025-01-23 09:55:19

Wu Qing:

I will answer this question, thank you. Building a good market ecology where investment and financing develop in a coordinated manner and market participants fulfill their responsibilities and get what they deserve has always been the direction of the CSRC's efforts. Since last year, the CSRC has conscientiously implemented the new "Nine National Regulations", insisted on strengthening the foundation, strict supervision and management, respecting laws and rules, highlighting the strengthening of the basic system construction of the capital market, and improving the supervision system of the entire chain, forming a "1+N" policy system, and promoting the continuous improvement of the market ecology. In the next step, we will also take the implementation of the "Implementation Plan" as an opportunity to practice the investor-oriented concept, further increase policy supply, and strive to create a market ecology that is more conducive to long-term investment, value investment, and rational investment.

First, on the asset side, we will focus on promoting the quality and investment value of listed companies. Last year, we formulated guidelines for market value management of listed companies, and introduced policies and rules to encourage dividends and repurchases. Listed companies paid dividends of 2.4 trillion yuan and repurchased 147.6 billion yuan throughout the year, both of which set historical records. At the end of the year and the beginning of the year, we also resolutely implemented the deployment requirements of the new "National Nine Articles" on multiple dividends a year and dividends before the Spring Festival. This year, there are already many companies that have paid dividends multiple times, and there are also many companies that have paid dividends before the Spring Festival. We will guide and promote qualified listed companies to "give red envelopes" to investors for the New Year. Ninety percent of listed companies that made profits last year have already paid dividends. In the two months before the Spring Festival this year, that is, December last year and January this year, it is expected that more than 310 companies will implement dividends before the Spring Festival, and the amount of dividends will be about more than 340 billion yuan, which is 9 times and 7.6 times that of the same period last year, respectively. At present, the dividend yield of the CSI 300 has reached 3%, which is significantly higher than the yield of 10-year treasury bonds, and the investment value of the equity market has been further highlighted. We will also further control the market entrance and exit, improve the inclusiveness and adaptability of the capital market system, further increase the supply of high-quality listed companies, and support more benchmark high-tech companies to enter the A-share market. At the same time, we will strengthen the continuous supervision of listed companies, especially further improve governance, continuously improve the quality of information disclosure of listed companies, and further take multiple measures to strengthen the active merger and reorganization market. Listed companies should also further enhance their awareness of actively returning to investors, better improve their attractiveness through cash dividends, repurchase cancellations, shareholders' shareholding increases, and provide the market with more high-quality targets. This is an important foundation for the market.

Second, on the trading side, we will continue to enrich the supply of products and tools suitable for medium- and long-term investment. That is, we need to strengthen investment. Public funds, commercial insurance funds, basic pension insurance funds, annuity funds, bank wealth management and other institutional investors are allowed to participate more actively in the private placement of listed companies as strategic investors. Insurance asset management and bank wealth management will be given the same policy treatment as public funds in terms of participating in new share subscription, private placement of listed companies, and identification standards for placards, and relevant funds will be actively supported to invest in the market. Make good use of the central bank's swap facility and explore institutional arrangements for normalization in conjunction with the People's Bank of China.

Third, on the institutional side, we will promote the continuous improvement of professional service capabilities. We will support securities and fund management institutions to carry out mergers and acquisitions and restructuring in accordance with market principles, and build first-class investment banks and investment institutions. A first-class capital market requires first-class investment banks and investment institutions. Through the construction of investment banks and investment institutions, we will further enhance the comprehensive ability to serve new quality productivity and serve residents' wealth management. Since last year, some leading institutions have made substantial progress in mergers and acquisitions and restructuring. We will also guide industry institutions to increase investment in human resources, research, transactions, and capital, and enhance service capabilities for various types of medium- and long-term funds such as pension funds and commercial insurance funds, as well as service capabilities for all investors. We will speed up the improvement of the fund investment advisory rules and regulations system, realize the transformation of business pilots into routine operations, and provide investors with better fund planning and asset allocation services.

Fourth, in law enforcement, we must resolutely maintain the market's "three fairness" order. Strictly implement the requirements of "long teeth and thorns" and sharp edges and corners for supervision, adhere to the combination of punishment, prevention and treatment, highlight supervision in accordance with the law and classified supervision, and quickly, accurately and severely crack down on all kinds of illegal and irregular behaviors. We must not only catch them early, catch them small, and catch the signs, but also hit them big, hit them evil, and hit them key points. In particular, we will never let go of the "chief culprits" and those who infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of investors, and pursue them to the end, so as to further improve the accuracy and effectiveness of supervision and law enforcement. We will highlight the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of investors, especially small and medium-sized investors, and improve the behavioral constraints on the controlling shareholders and actual controllers of listed companies in a targeted manner, including those illegal behaviors such as malicious fraud, shareholders or actual controllers seriously infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of small and medium-sized investors, and crack down on and constrain them. We will promote the improvement of institutional mechanisms such as special representative litigation and commitments by parties, and accelerate the improvement of institutional mechanisms for investor protection during the delisting process, especially during the delisting process due to illegal and irregular activities.

In short, building a good capital market ecology is the common expectation of all parties in the market, and there are many contents. The CSRC has an unshirkable responsibility and will do its best to do it. We will persevere and work hard for a long time to continuously promote the improvement of the capital market ecology, so that all kinds of funds are willing to come to this market, and can stay here and develop well. Thank you.

2025-01-23 09:55:34

A reporter from China Securities Journal asked a question (Photo by Liu Jian)

China Securities Journal reporter:

The National Social Security Fund is a strategic reserve fund for coping with an aging population and is of great significance. What specific arrangements will be made in the future to optimize the investment assessment policy of the National Social Security Fund? Thank you.

2025-01-23 10:03:16

Liao Min:

Thank you for your question, which is very important. I will answer your question from four aspects.

First, regarding the positioning of the National Social Security Fund. As you just said, the National Social Security Fund is also a reserve fund for our country's social security. The basic principle of investment operation is to achieve the preservation and appreciation of the fund's value under the premise of ensuring the security and liquidity of assets. The National Social Security Fund must always adhere to this principle when investing.

Second, regarding the investment allocation method of the National Social Security Fund. The investment structure of combining stocks and bonds in the capital market is a common practice for various pension funds in the world. The moderate investment of the National Social Security Fund in the stock market is conducive to expanding the value-added channels of the fund and improving the flexibility of investment allocation. The current investment management policy clearly defines the upper limit of the proportion of stock investment of the National Social Security Fund, and also ensures that the scale of its stock investment can be maintained at a certain level and within a reasonable range. At present, the proportion of stock and bond investment of the National Social Security Fund is roughly 4:6, and the allocation structure is generally reasonable. Since its establishment, the investment income has been very stable and has achieved good investment income. Chairman Wu Qing just made a special introduction in this regard, so I will not repeat it.

Third, the relationship between the National Social Security Fund and the capital market. From the perspective of the operation rules of the capital market, the capital market, including bonds and stocks, and the National Social Security Fund can complement each other. As an important investor in the capital market, the National Social Security Fund's long-term and stable investment strategy helps promote the healthy operation of the capital market, which in turn can improve the investment returns of the fund itself. Therefore, a virtuous circle can be formed between the two, and this has been proven from the past investment results.

Fourth, regarding the central government's financial support for the expansion and strengthening of the national social security fund. As the management department of the social security fund, the Ministry of Finance will continue to supplement the national social security fund. While strengthening the fund's guarantee capacity, it will support the injected funds to increase investment in the capital market, and adopt more flexible stock investment portfolios to continue to provide support for the positive development of the capital market, and also achieve a win-win situation of fund value preservation and appreciation and stable operation of the capital market.

Next, the Ministry of Finance will speed up the implementation of the Implementation Plan. In addition, we are working hard to complete two tasks for the subsequent specific arrangements.

First, we will optimize and improve the national social security fund investment management system. We have revised the relevant management measures for the domestic investment of the national social security fund and have publicly solicited opinions from the society. The Ministry of Finance is now studying and absorbing the feedback from all walks of life, and will meet with you as soon as possible after completing the procedures. The revised measures are combined with the latest development of the financial market, optimize the proportion of different investment products, and further improve the strength and flexibility of the national social security fund investment.

Second, we will improve the long-term assessment system for the investment and operation of the national social security fund. We are studying and improving the long-term assessment system for the national social security fund, refining and improving the requirements for the long-term assessment mechanism of more than 5 years, and intend to assess the fund's investment and operation from different dimensions such as risk management and value preservation and appreciation, taking into account the fund's short-term investment returns and long-term value preservation and appreciation goals, and firmly establishing the concept of long-term investment, which will truly and effectively support the long-term stable and healthy development of my country's capital market.

Thank you for your question.

2025-01-23 10:05:45

Economic Daily reporter asked a question (Photo by Liu Jian)

Economic Daily reporter:

Promoting the entry of medium- and long-term funds such as social security funds into the market is an important part of doing a good job in pension finance. What specific measures will the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security take? Thank you.

2025-01-23 10:06:18

Li Zhong (Photo by Xu Xiang)

Li Zhong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security:

Thank you for your question. As you mentioned, promoting the entry of medium- and long-term funds such as social security funds into the market is an important part of doing a good job in pension finance. Minister Liao just introduced the relevant situation of the national social security fund supervision. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, together with relevant departments, actively promotes the improvement of the investment policy and supervision system of the national social security fund, basic pension insurance fund, and enterprise (occupational) annuity fund, promotes the continuous expansion of the scale of market-oriented investment and operation, increasingly standardized investment management, and the steady improvement of the fund's value preservation and appreciation level, which not only enhances the hematopoietic function and self-balancing ability of the pension insurance system, but also provides important medium- and long-term capital strength for the healthy development of the capital market.

In the process of promoting the market-oriented investment and operation of social security funds, safety is always our top priority. In the next step, we will, under the premise of ensuring the safety of the funds, follow the principles of standardized, stable, professional and market-oriented operation, pay more attention to the medium- and long-term returns of the funds, improve the long-term assessment mechanism, continue to improve the investment policies of the national social security fund, basic pension insurance fund, and enterprise (occupational) annuity fund, improve the investment supervision system, and promote the funds to achieve stable investment returns. Through scientific and reasonable asset allocation and stable investment strategies, the value of social security funds can be maintained and increased. Thank you.

2025-01-23 10:06:48

Securities Daily reporter asked a question (Photo by Liu Jian)

Securities Daily reporter:

Last year, the central bank established two capital market support tools, and the market is also paying close attention to the implementation of these two tools. A few days ago, the People's Bank of China and the China Securities Regulatory Commission held a symposium. What is the latest progress of this work? Thank you.

2025-01-23 10:14:39

Zou Lan (Photo by Xu Xiang)

Zou Lan, member of the Party Committee of the People's Bank of China:

Thank you for your question. Since 2024, the People's Bank of China has taken a number of measures to create a good liquidity environment for the financial market. It has comprehensively used a variety of monetary policy tools such as the deposit reserve ratio, re-loan and re-discount, and open market operations. It has also innovatively launched a longer-term buy-out reverse repurchase operation to meet the liquidity needs of the banking system. Last year, the statutory deposit reserve ratio was lowered twice by a total of 1 percentage point, and the central bank's policy interest rate was lowered twice by a total of 0.3 percentage points, which was the largest in recent years. These policy measures have played an important role in the smooth operation of the entire financial market.

To support the stable development of the capital market, we have also innovatively established two tools, namely, the securities, funds, and insurance companies swap facility and the stock repurchase and increase in holdings refinancing, following the principles of marketization and rule of law, with the policy goal of enhancing the financing and investment capabilities of listed companies and industry institutions, supporting these institutions to better play the role of market value management and maintaining market stability, and enhancing the inherent stability of the capital market. At the same time, these two tools also reflect the expansion and new exploration of the central bank's function of maintaining financial stability. As Chairman Wu Qing mentioned just now, we will also explore normalized institutional arrangements. At present, the implementation of these two tools is progressing smoothly, and they have played an important role in maintaining the stable operation of the capital market and boosting market confidence.

Among them, the securities, funds and insurance companies have carried out two operations with a total amount of 105 billion yuan. The 50 billion yuan operated in October last year has been used for financing and increasing stock holdings. The 55 billion yuan operated in January this year can be used by industry institutions for financing and increasing stock holdings at any time. With the support of various policies, the scale of securities companies' proprietary stock investment has increased significantly. After several months of running-in, the business processes of all aspects of this tool have been completely smooth. With sufficient policy space and the implementation plan, it is expected that the business scale and response speed will be greatly improved.

Another tool, stock repurchase and increase holdings loans, is also widely welcomed by the market. In order to further play the role of policy tools in stabilizing the capital market, the People's Bank of China has continuously optimized the policy arrangements for stock repurchase and increase holdings re-loans in light of market concerns, especially for core policy elements such as loan ratio and term. It has reduced the requirement for the proportion of own funds when applying for loans from 30% to 10%, extended the maximum loan term from 1 year to 3 years, and encouraged banks to issue credit loans to facilitate banks to carry out loan business and fully meet the financing needs of listed companies' market value management. A few days ago, the People's Bank of China and the China Securities Regulatory Commission held a special symposium. At the symposium, financial institutions generally believed that listed companies that actively carry out market value management are high-quality enterprises with relatively good operating efficiency and management with full confidence in their own business development. Stock repurchase and increase holdings loans are expected to become new business growth points for the banking industry. Financial institutions will take the implementation of policy tools as an opportunity to give full play to the advantages of customers and outlets, and continue to improve all-round and comprehensive financial services for listed companies and major shareholders to achieve common development of banks and enterprises. As of now, financial institutions have reached cooperation intentions with nearly 800 listed companies and major shareholders. More than 300 listed companies have publicly disclosed their intention to apply for stock repurchase and increase holdings loans, with an upper limit of more than 60 billion yuan. Among them, companies with a market value of more than 10 billion yuan account for more than 40%. The loans are priced according to the principle of preferential interest rates, and the average interest rate level is about 2%.

In the next stage, the People's Bank of China will work with relevant departments to continuously optimize relevant policies, improve the convenience of using tools, and promote the expansion of tools in a timely manner based on previous practical experience and business development. Relevant enterprises and institutions can obtain sufficient medium- and long-term funds at any time to increase investment as needed.

Thanks.

2025-01-23 10:15:19

Shou Xiaoli:

Continue with the questions, two last questions.

2025-01-23 10:15:58

A reporter from China Banking and Insurance News asked a question (Photo by Liu Jian)

China Banking and Insurance News reporter:

The Financial Supervision Administration has promoted the pilot reform of long-term investment of insurance funds. How is the progress? What are the next steps? In addition, investors are very concerned about the real estate market. How is the progress of the urban real estate financing coordination mechanism? Thank you.

2025-01-23 10:25:21

Xiao Yuanqi:

Thank you very much for your question. You actually asked two questions just now. The first question is about the pilot reform of long-term investment of insurance funds. In October 2023, the Financial Regulatory Bureau approved China Life and New China Life to launch a securities investment fund with a scale of 50 billion yuan through the pilot of raising insurance funds to invest in the stock market and hold it for a long time. In the more than one year since the establishment of the fund, it has been running smoothly and has achieved a comprehensive dynamic balance of efficiency, safety and liquidity. It is understood that the fund's income is still considerable, and the fund continues to be optimistic about the investment value of the stock market. At present, other insurance companies are also actively applying to participate in this pilot. We have conducted an investigation and study on the first batch of pilots, that is, the 50 billion investment raised by China Life and New China Life, and we think it is necessary, so we will fully support it. The second batch of pilots will be more flexible in mechanism than the first batch in the future. The fund can be initiated and established by a single insurance company or jointly by two or more insurance companies. The scale of the second batch of pilots is now planned to be 100 billion yuan. We are going to approve 50 billion yuan in the next few days, that is, before the Spring Festival, and invest in the stock market immediately. In the future, the number of participating insurance companies and the scale of funds will be gradually expanded according to the wishes and needs of insurance companies. This is the first question.

The second question is that you just mentioned the real estate financing coordination mechanism. The situation is that this mechanism was established in early 2024. At present, the effect is still very obvious. Here are some data. As of the end of last year, the loan amount of commercial banks for real estate "white list" projects was 5.03 trillion yuan, exceeding the original expected target of 4 trillion yuan. As of January 22, the loan amount has increased by another 570 billion yuan, and the loan amount of real estate "white list" projects has now reached 5.6 trillion yuan. The "white list" mechanism provides sufficient and stable financial guarantees for the completion and delivery of real estate projects. Under this mechanism, we have established such a principle, that is, "all projects that should be put in should be put in, all projects that should be loaned should be loaned, and as early as possible should be put in", that is, all real estate projects that meet the "5+5" conditions should be included in the "white list" project management to achieve "all projects that should be put in should be put in". After the project enters the "white list", the bank will establish a green channel and actively provide financing support to achieve "all projects that should be loaned should be loaned". Moreover, banks are allowed to disburse all loans in advance to the project fund supervision account opened by the real estate project company, so as to achieve "as early as possible", thus ensuring that the project can start early and work can be continued in the middle. So far, the real estate financing coordination mechanism has supported the construction and delivery of 14 million housing units. Recently, there have been positive changes in the real estate market. The real estate financing coordination mechanism has played an important and positive role in protecting the legitimate rights and interests of home buyers, promoting the real estate market to stop falling and stabilize, and promoting the stable and healthy development of the real estate market. We will continue to play the role of this mechanism in the future, guide financial institutions to stabilize the financing of the real estate industry, give play to the unique advantages of different financing tools, form a combination effect, and improve accuracy, timeliness and effectiveness. At the same time, we will actively explore and summarize the experience and good practices of the "white list" mechanism, and optimize the relevant real estate financing system as soon as possible to adapt to and promote the high-quality development of real estate. Thank you.

2025-01-23 10:26:11

Shou Xiaoli:

Last question.

2025-01-23 10:29:28

Phoenix TV reporter asks questions (Photo by Liu Jian)

Phoenix TV reporter:

Foreign capital is an important force for medium- and long-term funds. What arrangements will be made in the next stage to attract and facilitate foreign investment in the A-share market? Thank you.

2025-01-23 10:29:38

Wu Qing:

Thank you for your question. Opening up to the outside world is a basic national policy that my country has long adhered to and a distinctive symbol of China's modernization. In recent years, the China Securities Regulatory Commission has resolutely implemented the country's overall arrangements for financial opening up, continuously improved the capital market's foreign investment policies, and deepened the two-way opening of markets, products, and institutions. Continue to relax the access conditions for qualified foreign investors and expand the scope of investment. Optimize the overseas listing registration system, improve the linkage mechanism between domestic and overseas listings, orderly expand cross-border connectivity in the capital market, and promote the inclusion of A shares in major international indexes such as MSCI, FTSE Russell, and S&P Dow Jones. Support more foreign financial institutions to conduct business in China. 26 securities companies, fund companies, futures companies and other institutions that are controlled by foreign capital or wholly foreign-owned have been approved for establishment. In general, the convenience and stability of foreign investment in the A-share market continue to improve, and a good ecology for foreign investment in China's capital market is taking shape.

From the perspective of foreign investment in the A-share market, as of the end of last year, 866 QFIIs had obtained investment qualifications, and foreign capital held about RMB 3 trillion of A-shares through the two channels of QFII and Shanghai-Shenzhen Stock Connect. It can be said that foreign capital is one of the important sources of funds for the A-share market. A considerable part of foreign capital is medium- and long-term funds, including a considerable number of world-renowned sovereign funds, pension funds, public funds, commercial insurance funds, etc., which have actively participated in the A-share market for many years and have also contributed to the stable development of the capital market.

I would like to emphasize that the CSRC has always adhered to the reform direction of marketization, rule of law and internationalization, adhered to the unity of reform and opening up, created a good investment environment for international investors, and supported various foreign-funded entities to participate in the A-share market. The door to the opening up of the capital market will only open wider and wider. In the next stage, we will resolutely implement the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee and the Central Financial Work Conference, especially the series of arrangements made for steadily expanding the opening up of the financial sector, further enhance the stability, transparency and predictability of policies, further improve the convenience of cross-border investment and financing, and enhance the attractiveness of A-share investment. First, further optimize the qualified foreign investor system and improve the capital market interconnection mechanism; second, enrich the supply of cross-border investment and risk management products; third, continue to strengthen communication and contact with international investors, promote the resolution of concerns and reasonable demands of foreign institutions, and further improve relevant mechanisms; fourth, strengthen the construction of regulatory capacity under the conditions of capital market opening up and maintain the stable operation of the market.

China's economic prospects are bright and China's capital market has huge development potential. We welcome more foreign investment in the A-share market and participate in sharing the opportunities of China's economic and capital market reform and development. Thank you!

2025-01-23 10:30:02

Shou Xiaoli:

Thank you to all the speakers and journalists for participating. This is the end of today's press conference. Goodbye everyone