SHANGHAI, June 18 (Reuters) - China's securities regulator announced plans on Wednesday to establish a new segment on Shanghai's tech-heavy STAR Market to host pre-profit growth companies.
Plans to launch the "growth segment" to support innovation come amid escalating tensions between China and the United States in areas ranging from trade to tech.
It also comes as Chinese companies are lining up to sell shares publicly in Hong Kong, which is wooing listing candidates in a rebounding stock market.
"Whether technology giants, or small and beautiful start-ups, they need strong backing from capital markets," Wu Qing, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) told a financial forum in Shanghai.
He vowed to improve China's capital markets to help the country's ramped-up innovation in the backdrop of big changes in global trade and economic order.
According to guidelines published on CSRC's website, companies with "major technology breakthroughs, bright commercial prospects and heavy investment in research and development" can list in the new segment.
Regulators will also create a mechanism to introduce seasoned, professional institutional investors to the STAR Market, which was set up to help China achieve technology independence and supremacy.
In addition, CSRC said it would support listing of companies with frontier technologies, in sectors such as artificial intelligence and aerospace.
Reporting by Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Jacqueline Wong
Source: Reuters