Shenzhen ranks 2nd in market cap of listed companies

Shenzhen ranked second among Chinese cities in the market capitalization of its companies listed on China’s stock exchanges in 2021, with 373 firms worth 10.37 trillion yuan (US$1.63 trillion) in total, according to data recently released by Intelligence Research Group, a Chinese consulting firm specializing in industry analysis and market research, Shenzhen Economic Daily reported.

Statistics showed that Beijing topped the list, with 425 public companies that have a market value totaling 20.15 trillion yuan. Shanghai ranked third, housing 388 listed companies with combined market cap amounting to 8.98 trillion yuan.

The market capitalization of publicly traded companies in the list’s top 100 cities reached 93.63 trillion yuan in 2021, accounting for 94.51 percent of the total value of the A-stock at the end of last year.

According to the data, the number of cities where public companies’ market value totaled at least 1 trillion yuan was 18 in 2021. The top five cities included Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province and Zunyi in Guizhou Province.

Shenzhen, as the only South China city making the top five, boasts China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd. with more than 1 trillion yuan in market cap, which is the city’s most valuable company.

Shenzhen ranked third in terms of the number of listed firms worth at least 10 billion yuan with 128 firms, with one 1-trillion-yuan-level company and 16 100-billion-yuan level companies. Moreover, the city saw 41 newly listed companies last year, ranking second in China behind Shanghai with 47 firms going public in 2021.

At the provincial level, Guangdong Province had the most with 11 on the top 100 list, and three of them, including Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Foshan, each has market capitalization of listed companies exceeding 1 trillion yuan.

Li Daxiao, chief economist of YINGDA Securities, contended that there are three factors bringing about Shenzhen’s leading place on the list. First, the city’s immigration culture and sound business environment have attracted many innovative and entrepreneurial talents. Second, the city’s comprehensive industrial chain has greatly improved companies’ chances of success in the market. Third, a raft of preferential policies offered by the government has benefited enterprises in developing into the industry benchmark.