SSE Rounds off First Training Session on Qualification of Secretary to Directorate for SSE Star Market

05 Jul 2019

In order to further implement the work arrangements for the smooth launch of the SSE Star Market, and raise the awareness of post-listing information disclosure and regulated operation among the companies on the SSE Star Market, from July 1 to 5, 2019, the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) held the first training session on qualification of secretary to directorate for the SSE Star Market. Attending the training were 209 trainees from 114 companies whose applications for listing on the SSE Star Market had been accepted, and the relevant representatives of the listing department and agencies of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) also participated in the whole process and gave lectures to the trainees.

The secretary to directorate is the specific person in charge of the information disclosure of a company listed on the SSE Star Market, and their professional conduct and ability are directly related to whether a company on the SSE Star Market can effectively fulfill its information disclosure obligations and safeguard legitimate rights and interest of all shareholders. Judging from the earlier seminars and visits, some companies had inadequate understanding and knowledge of the new systems, rules and arrangements for the continuous regulation of the companies listed on the SSE Star Market, and their awareness of information disclosure and regulated operation was yet to be raised further. As the preparations for the listing and trading on the SSE Star Market were in full swing, coupled with the intense work and heavy tasks, the SSE organized the training session in order to get fully “ready in advance”, bring the role of the secretary to directorate as a “key person” into play, raise the awareness of compliance at the companies planning to be listed on the SSE Star Market and improve their ability to take advantage of the dividend of the SSE Star Market system to expand and strengthen the main business, help the sci-tech innovative enterprises to establish a correct outlook on development, governance and information disclosure, and ensure the high-level and steady launch of the SSE Star Market.

In order to ensure the effectiveness of the training, the SSE attached great importance and made every effort in preparation and organization. First of all, in terms of the training courses, not only did the SSE offer the ordinary courses of the training for the secretaries to directorates such as information disclosure, regulated operation and business operations, but also particularly interpreted the significance of launching the SSE Star Market and piloting the registration-based IPO system, and provided in-depth explanations of the innovations in the continuous regulation system for the SSE Star Market in the aspects such as delisting, shareholding lessening, equity incentives, mergers and acquisitions and reorganization, differentiated arrangements for voting rights, industry information and business risk disclosure. Secondly, in terms of the organization and guarantee, the SSE coordinated the resources and selected the backbone personnel to form the team of lecturers, so as to ensure the quality of the teaching; with respect to the training arrangements, the SSE made effective efforts in organization, refined the details, and improved the effectiveness of training through face-to-face teaching, Q&A, seminars, computer simulation operations and other means, so as to ensure the success in the five-day training session.

The courses and organization for the training were highly praised by the trainees. Some secretaries to directorates of the sci-tech innovative companies attending the training said that the arrangements for the courses were down to earth, and shed light on how a company should, after being listed, make full use of the new systems of the SSE Star Market, enhance the information disclosure, corporate governance and internal control mechanism, and continuously improve the quality of the listed company.

At present, the companies on the SSE Star Market have entered the issuance process successively after completing the registration procedures, and the arrangements for the first batch of companies to be listed on the SSE Star Market have been in the final stage. Going forward, the SSE will continue to earnestly make every preparation for the post-listing continuous regulation of the companies on the SSE Star Market, and lay a solid foundation for the high-quality development of the sci-tech innovative enterprises.