Nantong makes moves to become pinnacle of capital marketization

The city government of Nantong has attached great importance to the construction of the capital market by launching innovative policies and introducing high-profile capital companies, officials have said.

In December, Huatai Securities signed a cooperation agreement with the Nantong city government announcing its resolution to promote the upgraded development of Nantong's industry.

Nantong Mayor Wu Xinming said: "The development of the real economy, as well as industrial transformation and upgrading, cannot be achieved without financial support. Huatai Securities, ranking in the top-tier for comprehensive strength and brand influence in China, has a deep foundation to initiate its cooperation with Nantong."

Along with the implementation of some major strategies such as the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region, Nantong has embarked on a new round of high-speed development, according to Wu. And a three-dimensional transportation pattern integrating land, sea and air transportation is taking shape.

More convenient transportation not only provides greater opportunities for the development of enterprises, but also carries favorable conditions for Huatai Securities to develop new business in Nantong.

With the hope of seeing Huatai Securities fully exert its capital and platform advantages, as well as introducing more capital, projects and resources, Nantong's enterprises should take the initiative to accelerate their transformation and enhance their core competitiveness, Wu added.

Zhou Yi, CEO of Huatai Securities, said that Nantong has utilized multiple national strategies in recent years, resulting in its GDP reaching 1 trillion yuan.

As a result, Nantong has become a crucial growth pole for the high-quality development of Jiangsu province and is actively working toward the objective of "building itself into another Shanghai".

For the company, the cooperation with Nantong represents a rare development opportunity.

He said that Huatai Securities will give full play to its advantages in investment, private equity and asset securitization and actively explore a new path to achieve innovation-driven and eco-friendly development.

In December of 2022, a new mobile application called "Haotong" was launched in the city, as a part of efforts to help local businesses achieve rapid development by utilizing the capital market.

The program was initiated by the city government and jointly developed by Nantong's financial bureau and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The goal of the initiative is to create a comprehensive, professional and precise service system that can assist businesses throughout the entire process of becoming listed on the stock exchange.

Qi Zhongwei, head of Nantong's financial bureau, said the platform is a comprehensive one-stop service for local enterprises and government departments that assists stock market listing and financing.

It is built around the database of companies with the intention to go public in Nantong and it brings together various resources for listing services.

Using this platform, enterprises can conveniently access the up-to-date listing policies and trends in the Nantong capital market, gain knowledge of relevant laws and regulations, initial public offering cases and industry research reports, participate in online courses, conduct self-testing for listing, and connect with potential investors and financiers.

Government departments can utilize the platform to establish a database of backup enterprises with the intention to go public, dynamically manage the whitelist of such companies, enhance the management and improve service for these enterprises.

With the aim to create a favorable environment that can promote the listing service and high-quality development of listed companies, Nantong will build itself into a new standard for the high-quality development of the real economy and financial services, Qi said.

During 2022, four companies have gone public in the city. Seven companies have listed on China's National Equities Exchange and Quotations and 12 enterprises have submitted applications for an IPO.