Rise of Hard Technology Companies: Leveraging Capital Markets for Diverse Industrial Growth in Shenzhen

Hard technology companies are rapidly emerging, adeptly leveraging capital markets to achieve a balanced and diversified industrial structure. As of early February 2026, companies such as Dongpeng Beverage, Beixin Life, Dazhong CNC, and Zhuozheng Medical have recently entered the capital market, pushing the total number of listed companies in Shenzhen—both domestic and overseas—beyond 600. This figure includes 426 domestic listed companies and 174 overseas ones, with a total market value exceeding 19 trillion yuan, showcasing a vibrant “high-quality capital ecosystem” in Shenzhen. This milestone is not just a matter of quantity; during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the number of listed companies in the city increased by 35.03%. As of the end of January 2026, the total market value reached 12.59 trillion yuan, maintaining Shenzhen’s position as the second-largest in terms of market value among major Chinese cities. Over the past five years, these companies have contributed more than 2 trillion yuan in taxes and created over 4 million jobs. In the first three quarters of 2025, listed companies in the region achieved a total operating income of 5.20 trillion yuan, marking a year-on-year increase of 7.36%, with manufacturing accounting for an impressive 99.87% of this revenue. The 600 listed companies represent not only a significant sample for observation but also a key driving force in the transition from “Shenzhen speed” to “Shenzhen quality.”

Industrial Landscape

Companies are making substantial investments in research and development, and hard technology is painting a broad picture of innovation. A glance at the directory of Shenzhen’s 600 listed companies reveals a clear industrial map dominated by hard technology. In terms of financing structure, technological innovation has become the absolute focal point, with about 80% of newly listed companies belonging to the Sci-Tech Innovation Board and the Growth Enterprise Market. As of February 2026, the number of companies listed on the Shenzhen Growth Enterprise Market and the Sci-Tech Innovation Board has reached 216, accounting for more than half of the A-share companies in Shenzhen and ranking first among major cities in the country.

The semiconductor and integrated circuit industry has become a notable highlight on this map. Companies like Zhongke Feice, which focuses on high-end semiconductor quality control equipment, and Laplace, which has established a comparative advantage in semiconductor discrete device equipment, illustrate the rapid rise of hard technology firms. The listing of leading domestic semiconductor equipment probe manufacturer Xidian further strengthens critical links in the industrial chain. The fields of artificial intelligence and robotics highlight Shenzhen’s global competitiveness in cutting-edge technology. In the “Robot Valley” of Nanshan, companies like UBTECH and Inovance have clustered together. The “first humanoid robot stock,” UBTECH’s Walker S1, has already been deployed in factories of major automakers like BYD and Geely. Meanwhile, “first in 3D vision” company Aobo Zhongguang commands over 70% of the market share in China’s service robotics sector. Recently, Dazhong CNC, a leader in laser equipment, has further solidified Shenzhen’s cluster advantage in high-end intelligent equipment through its IPO.

Another cluster of listed companies in new energy and green technology provides another lens through which to observe Shenzhen’s industrial transformation. From BYD, a giant straddling the automotive, electronics, new energy, and rail transit industries, to solar energy leader Shihang New Energy and charging equipment component manufacturer Youyou Green Energy, a comprehensive industrial chain covering new energy vehicles, energy storage, and critical components has emerged. BYD’s annual R&D investment of over 54 billion yuan not only ranks first among all listed companies nationwide but also highlights the determination and strength of Shenzhen firms in tackling core technological challenges. The biopharmaceutical sector is also experiencing continuous breakthroughs. Beixin Life has become the first medical device company to successfully issue shares after the re-launch of the Sci-Tech Innovation Board’s fifth listing standard. Hanno Medical has overcome key technologies related to ECMO (artificial membrane lung) and received EU MDR certification. As a major shareholder of Hanno Medical, leading medical device manufacturer Mindray Medical has supported it throughout, exemplifying the collaborative innovation within the Shenzhen listed companies.

These 600 companies form a robust innovation community. Among them, 162 strategic emerging industry firms have a research intensity of 7%, with 101 companies exceeding 10% and 33 exceeding 20%. In the first three quarters of 2025, the total R&D expenses of Shenzhen’s A-share listed companies reached 156.33 billion yuan, marking an increase of 11.59% year-on-year, significantly outpacing the national average of 2.13%. This high investment in research and development is translating into tangible industrial competitiveness: in 2025, multiple industry clusters including semiconductors, smart connected vehicles, low-altitude economy and aerospace, artificial intelligence, and robotics saw double-digit value-added growth. The exports of high-tech products such as new energy vehicles, consumer drones, digital cameras, and 3D printers rose by 10.1%.

Capital Empowerment

Shenzhen companies not only lead in the number of listings but have also constructed a multi-dimensional capital market structure that spans various sectors and markets. The domestic capital market has solidified its primary position, with the total market value of Shenzhen’s listed companies exceeding 12.59 trillion yuan, accounting for over 10% of the total A-share market value. Among them, 20 companies boast market values exceeding 100 billion yuan, totaling 7.16 trillion yuan. In the first three quarters of 2025, main board companies continued to see growth, with operating income and net profit increasing by 7.22% and 4.84% year-on-year, respectively. Companies on the Growth Enterprise Market have also returned to growth, with increases of 9.25% and 1.71% for the same metrics.

Overseas listing channels have become another significant “growth pole.” From 2023 to 2025, Shenzhen saw 38 new overseas listed companies, including 27 on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Of these, 21 saw their stock prices rise on their first trading day, achieving an upward rate exceeding 70%. By the end of 2025, these 27 companies had an average cumulative increase of 18.80%. Additionally, in 2025, the total amount of refinancing in the Hong Kong stock market (including placements and rights issues) surged by 4710.58% year-on-year, reaching 55.466 billion Hong Kong dollars, with BYD alone accounting for over 43.509 billion Hong Kong dollars, marking the largest equity refinancing in the global automotive sector in nearly a decade. The diversified listing channels provide precise capital support tailored to companies at different development stages and with varying industrial characteristics.

Da Pu Wei has become the first unprofitable company to pass the review on the Growth Enterprise Market; Huike Co. has set a precedent as the first company to apply under the second set of listing standards on the Shenzhen main board; and Jingtai Technology, as the first stock under Chapter 18C of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, conducted two rapid placements within a month after its listing, with the scale of the issuance being three times that of its IPO. These examples underscore Shenzhen companies’ innovative use of the capital market and their leading role in system innovation. Meanwhile, an active merger and acquisition market serves as an “accelerator” for industrial upgrading. In 2025, Shenzhen listed companies completed 146 mergers and acquisitions, with a total disclosed transaction value of 86.645 billion yuan. Luxshare Precision improved its Android ecosystem ODM capabilities by acquiring stakes in certain subsidiaries of Wenta Technology; through acquiring shares in Germany’s Leoni, it swiftly established overseas production capacity. China Resources Sanjiu’s acquisition of 28% of Tianshili’s shares exemplifies a typical case of integrating the entire Chinese medicine industry chain. These industry mergers vividly illustrate the pivotal role of the capital market in promoting a high-level circulation of “technology, capital, and industry.”

Micro Samples

Focusing on the recent listings of Dongpeng Beverage, Beixin Life, Dazhong CNC, and Zhuozheng Medical, we can observe the “Shenzhen sector” from four micro samples. Dongpeng Beverage, a leading firm in the functional beverage sector, showcases Shenzhen’s consumer industry’s path toward brand development and capitalization. From a regional brand to a national enterprise, Dongpeng’s growth reflects how Shenzhen’s consumer companies leverage capital markets for leapfrog development. The listing of Beixin Life is particularly symbolic. As the first medical device company to successfully issue shares following the re-launch of the Sci-Tech Innovation Board’s fifth standard, Beixin Life exemplifies the capital market’s support for hard technology firms, especially those innovating in the biopharmaceutical sector. The fifth listing standard places greater emphasis on a company’s technological innovation capabilities rather than short-term profitability, opening the capital market to numerous biopharmaceutical companies with long research cycles and substantial investments.

Dazhong CNC, a leader in PCB equipment, successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in February 2026 after debuting on the Growth Enterprise Market in 2022, establishing an “A+H” dual capital platform. Its focus on providing comprehensive solutions for printed circuit boards represents a breakthrough for “Shenzhen Smart Manufacturing” in the high-end equipment and key industrial mother machine sectors while actively entering emerging fields such as AI servers and smart vehicles. This illustrates a typical path for Shenzhen’s hard technology companies to achieve technological advancement and global layout through the capital market. Zhuozheng Medical’s IPO marks a significant milestone for Shenzhen’s modern high-end medical services sector entering capitalization. Based on evidence-based medicine, its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, backed by organizations like Tencent, provides a new model for Shenzhen’s modern service industry to connect with the capital market.

These four companies span the fields of consumer goods, hard technology, high-end manufacturing, and modern services, reflecting the diversified and balanced industrial structure of Shenzhen. They also showcase the complete spectrum of advancements from traditional industry upgrades to breakthroughs in cutting-edge technology, and from product innovation to service innovation, which lies at the core of Shenzhen’s economic resilience and vitality.

Ecological Empowerment

The recent surge of listings and the milestone of 600 companies are rooted in Shenzhen’s mature and efficient full-chain support ecosystem. A gradient nurturing mechanism provides companies with clear growth paths. In 2022, Shenzhen launched 30 measures to cultivate and expand market entities, tailoring supportive policies for different types of businesses, including transitioning from individual to corporate, upgrading from small to standardized, refining regulations, and optimizing listings. Currently, there are over 20,000 national high-tech enterprises in Shenzhen, and 1,333 national “little giant” enterprises, both leading in total quantity and growth nationally. The total number of national manufacturing champions has reached 117, ranking second among cities in the country. These emerging innovative entities provide ample support for the pool of listed companies.

The financial support network continuously supplies “fresh water” for business growth. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Shenzhen enterprises directly financed over 2.8 trillion yuan, a growth of over 50% compared to the previous five years. Of these, 110 companies raised over 110 billion yuan through domestic IPOs, while the bond market (including ABS) provided more than 2.4 trillion yuan. Public REITs have raised a total of 32.726 billion yuan through both initial offerings and expansions. The “Technology Board” in the bond market has been established in Shenzhen, with Dongfang Fuhai issuing the first private equity venture capital sci-tech bond in the country, effectively broadening the financing channels for real enterprises, especially small and medium-sized tech firms.

Moreover, Shenzhen continues to innovate in the supply of tech financial products, designating 120 specialized tech financial institutions. Increasing numbers of products such as “park loans” and “intellectual property loans” have emerged, while tech insurance has provided nearly 5 trillion yuan in risk coverage. The Xinyi Loan platform has assisted 350,000 small tech enterprises in obtaining over 600 billion yuan in financing, addressing the challenges of enterprise financing. The continuous innovation of the listing service system has significantly enhanced the efficiency of company engagement with capital. Initiatives such as the Shenzhen Municipal Financial Office’s “one-stop” guidance, exchange connections, and investment and financing platform establishment, coupled with events like “Shenzhen Venture Capital Day” and “Starry City,” have collaboratively built a service network that covers the entire lifecycle of enterprises.

Looking Ahead

As we stand at the new milestone of 600 companies, Shenzhen’s capital market is transitioning from quantity accumulation to structural optimization and quality enhancement. By 2025, the value added of strategic emerging industries accounted for 43% of GDP, with the group of listed companies representing a concentrated reflection of this industrial structure. Looking ahead, emerging industries will become the new main force in listings. In cutting-edge areas such as low-altitude economy, brain science and brain-like intelligence, and quantum information, a number of leading technological innovation companies are accelerating their maturation and are expected to become new darlings of the capital market. Institutional innovation in the capital market will continue to release differentiated advantages. From the fifth listing standard of the Sci-Tech Innovation Board to the unprofitable enterprise listing channel on the Growth Enterprise Market, and Hong Kong’s Chapter 18C and other inclusive policies, these align closely with the characteristics of Shenzhen’s hard technology firms.

Global expansion will broaden development space. From Transsion Holdings’ deep engagement in the African market to Ying Shi Innovation’s popularity in New York and Luxshare Precision’s overseas production capacity layout, the global competitiveness of Shenzhen listed companies is continuously rising, providing critical support for Shenzhen’s leading position in foreign trade. Mergers and acquisitions will become an accelerator for high-quality development among listed companies. With the implementation of the “Shenzhen Action Plan for Promoting High-Quality Development of Mergers and Acquisitions (2025-2027)” and the establishment of the first merger fund alliance in the Greater Bay Area, the cases of Shenzhen listed companies achieving industrial integration, technological upgrades, and market expansion through mergers and acquisitions will become increasingly rich.

In terms of R&D investment, Shenzhen’s total social R&D input has grown from 151.08 billion yuan in 2020 to 245.31 billion yuan in 2024, with an R&D intensity of 6.67%, ranking first among cities in the country. Against the backdrop of Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou forming the top tier of the “Global Innovation Index,” this innovative momentum will continue to translate into industrial competitiveness, realizing value amplification through the capital market. The 600 listed companies are a microcosm of Shenzhen’s industrial transformation and upgrading, as well as a measure of the maturity of its innovation ecosystem. The city provides fertile ground for growth through systematic ecological construction, while companies continuously innovate to invigorate the city. Shenzhen is leading economic high-quality development with its high-quality listed companies, writing a new chapter of “the dual pursuit of industry and capital.”