Profit surge for firms helps to boost emerging sectors

Chinese companies on ChiNext grow quickly as economic momentum rises

BEIJING - Nearly seven in 10 Chinese-listed companies on the country's Nasdaq-style board are poised to register hefty profits for the first half of this year.

The data cast light on the gathering momentum in emerging sectors and the solid economic fundamentals of the country.

As of Monday, nearly 69 percent of 64 Chinese publicly traded companies listed on the ChiNext had forecast profit growth or projected that losses would be transferred to gains in the January-June period. The figures were released by Choice, a leading financial data provider.

Analysts stressed that profitability of listed companies offers insight into broader economic performance.

Breakdown figures revealed that only 12 companies, or 18.8 percent of the total, are set to witness a decline in profits or report a loss for the first six months. The remainders have not made profit projections.

Five listed companies, including Zhejiang Jingsheng Mechanical and Electrical, predicted having the potential to at least nearly double their net profits in the first six months.

The solar energy giant expects its net profits to surge between 70 percent and 100 percent year-on-year in the first six months, due to rising outlays on research and development.

Smart manufacturing now features on the company's production lines, reducing operational costs and improving work efficiency. Moreover, strengthened efforts on new product design and upgrading in tandem with stock option incentive plans sharpened technological competitiveness.

Zhejiang Jingsheng Mechanical and Electrical is testimony to the performance of Chinese companies that are driving up the global value chain as part of the country's economic restructuring.

China is moving toward an economy boosted by consumer spending, innovation and services, reducing reliance on investment and exports of low value-added goods.

Last year, Chinese listed companies reported brisk profit growth as they ramped up spending on research and development, with emerging sectors outperforming traditional industries.

Combined net profits from growth enterprises listed on the tech and emerging sector-heavy ChiNext board surged 36.7 percent in 2016 compared to the previous year.

That was faster than the 4.3 percent growth from publicly traded companies on the two main bourses in Shanghai and Shenzhen, according to data from Choice.

On a national scale, China's research and development expenditure jumped 9.4 percent to 1.55 trillion yuan ($228 billion) last year compared to 2015.

That accounted for 2.08 percent of gross domestic product in 2016, data from the National Bureau of Statistics revealed.

Smart manufacturing and emerging sectors such as next-generation IT technology will embrace stellar growth in China over the next decade.

These sectors will all have complete supply chains that will attract massive investment, Guotai Junan Securities said in a report.

"China's transition to slower but structurally rebalanced growth continues," the World Bank said in a report.

Last year, China's economy expanded 6.7 percent, the slowest growth rate in more than a quarter of a century. But tangible economic restructuring achievements are emerging.

Still, some industry observers cautioned that the process of transferring technological innovation into successful products for listed companies would be challenging.

"Industrial upgrading and increasing productivity will take many years of reforms, instead of being achieved overnight," said Zhao Yuncheng, a senior official at the NBS.

Moreover, slightly tightened market liquidity and tougher supervision to ward off financial risk weighed on the performance of many listed companies, despite their surging profit growth.

Xinhua