Today, the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and the China Securities Index Co., Ltd. formally announced the release arrangement of the SSE STAR 100 Index (hereinafter referred to as the STAR 100 Index). The STAR 100 Index selects 100 securities from the STAR Market with medium-sized market capitalization and good liquidity as index samples. Together with the STAR 50 Index, they form the scale-based index series of the SSE STAR Market, reflecting the overall performance of securities of STAR Market listed companies with different scales in terms of market capitalization.
As a pilot zone for the registration system reform, the STAR Market has operated smoothly since its opening in July 2019, fully serving the financing needs of enterprises with key and core technologies and promoting high-quality development of the real economy. As of July 20, 2023, there have been 546 listed companies on the STAR Market, with a total market value of RMB 6.47 trillion yuan. With the steady increase in the number of listed companies, investors demonstrate growing demands for investment in listed companies with different levels of market capitalization on the STAR Market. Against this background, the SSE and China Securities Index Co., Ltd. have conducted research and launched the SSE STAR 100 Index on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the opening of the STAR Market. The index selects 100 securities with medium-sized market capitalization and good liquidity, excluding constituents of the STAR 50 Index. The main features of the compilation plan remains consistent with the STAR 50 Index in order to reflect the overall performance of securities with medium-sized market capitalization on the STAR Market.
The STAR 100 Index features distinct characteristics and differentiates itself from the STAR 50 Index, which reflects the performance of securities with large market capitalization on the STAR Market, further enriching the scale-based index series of the STAR Market. Taking the latest constituents as an example, in terms of market value, the median daily market value of the STAR 100 Index samples over the past year is RMB 15.3 billion yuan, and the proportion of samples with a market value below RMB 20 billion yuan is approximately 74%, forming a positioning difference from the STAR 50 Index samples with a median market value of RMB 42.4 billion yuan. In terms of industry distribution, more than half of the constituents of the STAR 100 Index are from industries such as biomedicine, high-end equipment, and new materials (with a total weight of 54.1%), which well complements the STAR 50 Index. In terms of innovation capability and performance growth, the sample companies of the STAR 100 Index had a total R&D investment of RMB 28.9 billion yuan in 2022, with an average proportion to operating revenue of 19%. The average compounded annual growth rate of operating revenue of the sample companies in the past three years was up to 38.9%. Both the R&D intensity and revenue growth rate were higher than the STAR Market's average.
In recent years, the SSE and China Securities Index Co., Ltd. have always focused on implementing strategic plans including sci-tech self-reliance and self-strengthening at higher levels, and have constantly been improving the index system of the STAR Market. So far, 11 STAR Market indices have been released, establishing an index system covering scale, themes, strategies, and other types. Products tracking these indices in domestic and overseas markets have reached a scale of over RMB 120 billion yuan. Notably, the STAR 50 Index has attracted over RMB 76 billion yuan of incremental funds into the STAR Market since 2022, ranking first among domestic broad-based indices. The launch of the STAR 100 Index will help further enhance the coverage of the scale-based index series of the STAR Market. The combined market capitalization of the STAR 50 and STAR 100 index samples accounts for approximately 65% of the total market capitalization of listed companies on the STAR Market, providing investors with more diversified investment tools.