Xiong Yuan: Various capital market reforms will reverse the past narrative of "valuing financing over returns."

Xiong Yuan, Chief Economist at Guosheng Securities, noted in a recent interview with reporters that corporate governance reform for listed companies focuses on tightening primary responsibilities, strengthening information disclosure and accountability for violations of laws and regulations, and improving supporting constraints on dividends and share buybacks. It drives enterprises to shift from a single financing orientation to placing equal emphasis on value creation and shareholder returns, continuously reducing the governance risk discount and restoring the foundation of investor trust. At the same time, the differentiated constraints and look-through supervision of the share reduction system curb disorderly arbitrage and circumventing share reductions, promote convergence between the interests of major shareholders and small and medium-sized investors, reduce irrational selling pressure in a weak environment, and stabilize valuation expectations. Rules are predictable, and risk pricing is also becoming increasingly rational. Data show that in the first half of the year, the net profit of listed companies increased by 19.5% year on year, hitting a nearly three-year high; meanwhile, dividends and share buybacks during the year reached 2.7 times those of IPOs and refinancing, achieving synchronous growth in profitability and returns.