China's securities regulator moves to refine strategic investor mechanism

 The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) announced that it has amended certain legal interpretations in an effort to refine the strategic investor mechanism for the refinancing of listed companies.

Some key amendments include expanding the category of strategic investors, clarifying their minimum shareholding ratios, defining basic requirements for capital investors, improving disclosure rules, and strengthening regulatory oversight.

Regarding the expansion of the strategic investor category, the amended legal interpretation specifies that institutional investors such as the national social security fund, basic pension funds, enterprise annuity funds, commercial insurance capital, public offering funds, and bank wealth management may act as strategic investors that will make strategic investments in listed firms with "patient capital." Such investors are also classified as capital investors.

The interpretation sets a minimum shareholding requirement, stipulating that strategic investors should subscribe to no less than 5 percent of the shares in the current refinancing and may participate in corporate governance based on their shareholding ratio.

The interpretation also requires capital investors to gain an in-depth understanding of listed companies' industrial development, noting that they should be able to help introduce strategic resources, significantly improve corporate governance and internal controls, and enhance the core competitiveness of listed companies.

The CSRC said it is soliciting public feedback on the proposed amendments until March 2, 2026.