Chinese listed companies are rushing to buy back shares and lift dividends as they respond to regulators’ calls that echo reform efforts in Japan and South Korea, driving a welcome rally even if investors doubt that broader governance changes are afoot.
China-listed firms announced record cash dividends totalling 2.2 trillion yuan ($300 billion) for 2023 despite a fall in combined profit, official data shows. Over 100 listed companies returned money to investors for the first time.
Meanwhile, a growing number of firms are unveiling share buyback schemes to avoid being delisted or sanctioned with other penalties under tougher rules.
China’s measures, designed to improve investor returns and announced in March, have triggered a solid rebound in stocks – the benchmark CSI300 (.CSI300), opens new tab index is up almost 17% from February’s five-year lows.
They have also drawn comparisons with the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s push for capital efficiency that drove the Nikkei to record highs.But a Japan-style rally is unlikely as China’s reforms have met with scepticism from fund managers who say it’s more about rescuing the market than improving corporate governance.
Government-controlled companies, which account for roughly 30% of market capitalisation in China and Hong Kong, are under the tight grip of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, which could raise conflict of interest issues with non-state shareholders.
In Japan, firms have begun to unwind strategic shareholdings as part of ongoing reforms to be more market-oriented.