Everything You Need To Know About The Shanghai Stock Exchange

Everything You Need To Know About The Shanghai Stock Exchange

The Shanghai Stock Exchange is the largest securities exchange in Mainland China and one of the largest stock exchanges in Asia. The exchange is home to a wide range of companies, chiefly from the financial services, construction, and industrial sectors. 

Here are some quick facts about the Shanghai Stock Exchange:

  • The Shanghai Stock Exchange is a non-profit organization that is directly administered and operated by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC)
  • The exchange was founded in 1990, as part of the gradual opening of the Chinese economy
  • The exchange is home to over 2,000 equities, primarily from Mainland China
  • The SSE is one of the few stock exchange in the world that are government-owned 

While the Shanghai Stock Exchange has become one of the largest exchanges in the world in terms of market capitalization, the exchange has been of lesser strategic importance to the Chinese economy over the years than the Hong-Kong Stock Exchange, which had allowed companies from Mainland China, including tech giants and financial institutions, to make their shares available to an international pool of investors. The Shanghai Stock Exchange is still heavily regulated by the state - with strict capital account controls. The exchange is also not fully open to the international investing public, which limits access to foreign capital for companies that list their shares on the SSE.

8 Facts You Should Know About The Shanghai Stock Exchange

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  • The Shanghai Stock Exchange is one of two securities exchanges in China, with the other being the Shenzhen Stock Exchange
  • The SSE is home to some of China’s largest companies, such as PetroChina, China Mobile, and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
  • In 2014, the SSE launched the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program, which allows investors in Hong Kong to trade stocks listed on the SSE and vice versa
  • The SSE is open for trading from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm Beijing time, Monday to Friday
  • The SSE Composite and SSE 50 are two of the most followed indexes on the Shanghai Stock Exchange
  • The Shanghai Stock Exchange has a multi-layered list of requirements for companies seeking to obtain a listing there
  • Aside from the regular trading hours, The SSE has a post-market trading session from 3:00 pm to 3:30 pm Beijing time
  • There are two classes of shares on the exchange: A-shares and B-shares

What Are The Listing Requirements On The Shanghai Stock Exchange?

The SSE has four different categories of criteria companies need to meet in order to list their shares on the exchange, which are:

Continuous operations:

  • The company must be in continuous operation for a minimum of three years
  • If the company is a joint-stock company converted from a limited liability company, the duration of operations will be calculated from the establishment of the joint-stock company

Reliable accounting and internal controls:

  • The company publishes reliable financial statements that have been audited by a certified accountant
  • The internal control mechanisms are sound and reliable and an internal control report has been issued by a certified public accountant

Business integrity:

  • No major adverse changes have occurred in the main business and directors over the past two years and ownership stakes are clear and known
  • There are no major disputes ongoing between shareholders that would disrupt the operations of the company

Compliance with laws and regulations:

  • The issuer, controlling shareholders, or the management of the company must have a clean track record of compliance with the law over the past three years
  • Senior executives and supervisors of the company must not have been subject to any administrative punishment, or investigation by the CSRC, or other judicial authority, over the past three years

As for the specific financial requirements directed at companies, the SSE allows IPOs for companies that:

  • Have a total market capitalization of at least 50 million RMB
  • The public issue is no less than 25% of total shares outstanding

How Does The Shanghai Stock Exchange Make Money?

While the Shanghai Stock Exchange is a non-profit directly administered by the CSRC, the exchange still needs to generate revenue to continue operating unobstructed. Some of the ways the SSE generates revenues are:

  • Trading fees - the SSE charges a percentage fee on every transaction made on the exchange
  • Listing fees - the SSE charges one-time and annual fees to companies that wish to list their shares on the exchange
  • Clearing and settlement fees - the SSE operates a clearing and settlement system that ensures that trades are settled efficiently and securely and charges fees for doing so
  • Membership fees - brokers and financial institutions that want to participate in the market must pay membership fees to the exchange
  • Market data fees - the SSE charges fees for providing market data that is constantly updated in real-time, such as price quotes, market capitalization, trading volume and other metrics

SSE Listing & Other Fees

The SSE charges different fees based on the securities being exchanged. However, the fees charged for stock trades are fairly straightforward:

  • The initial listing fee for Class A shares is 0.03% of total par value and no more than 30,000 RMB
  • The annual listing fee for Class A shares is 0.12% of total par value and no more than 6,000 RMB
  • For Class A and B shares, trading fees amount to 0.00487% of the trading value (both sides)
  • The same trading fee applies to the trading of depositary receipts 

The SSE 50 Index

The SSE 50 is one of the most followed indexes on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and consists of the top 50 companies listed on the exchange. It is one of the most popular equity indexes in Asia. 

What Is The SSE 50 Index?

The SSE 50 is a float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index, which means that the largest constituents have an outsized influence on the performance of the index. The SSE 50 was first published in 2004 and has since become one of the most popular stock indexes in Asia. The index includes some of the largest financial institutions and industrial corporations in Mainland China. The ticker code for the SSE 50 is 000016. 

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SSE 50 Weighting By Sector & Largest Constituents

Here’s how much weight individual sectors have in the SSE 50:

SectorWeight
Industrials13.4%
Information Technology2.4%
Real Estate2%
Materials10%
Telecommunication0%
Utilities4.3%
Financials29.1%
Consumer Staples23%
Energy4%

The 10 largest constituents of the SSE 50 are weighted as follows:

CompanyTicker CodeWeight
Kweichow Moutai 60051916.24%
Ping An Insurance6013187.62%
China Merchants Bank6000366.91%
Longi Green Energy Technology6010123.84%
Industrial Bank6011663.83%
China Yangtze Power6009003.58%
China Tourism Group Duty Free6018883.16%
Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group6008872.97%
CITIC Securities6000302.91%
Wanhua Chemical Group6003092.61%

The Kweichow Moutai Company is a partially-public corporation that is the largest beverage company in the world and the dominant producer of the baijiu spirit. 

Overall, the index is primarily dominated by financial and industrial companies - a sizable portion of which are partially owned by the government. 

The SSE Composite Index

The SSE Composite is the benchmark index of the Shanghai Stock Exchange and tracks all A and B shares listed on the exchange. The SSE Composite is one of the most followed equity indexes in Asia and is often used to evaluate the financial health of the Chinese economy. 

However, many analysts and public officials around the world have raised concerns over the reliability of the data provided by the companies, as the Chinese government owns a controlling interest and views many of them as of strategic importance. 

What Is The SSE Composite Index?

The SSE Composite is a float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index that tracks all A and B shares listed on the SSE. The index was first launched in 1991 with a base value of 100 and has since reached above the 3,000 mark. The index is currently home to over 1,600 listed equities in China, including private enterprises and state-owned businesses. The ticker code for the SSE 50 is 000001. 

The index is weighted using the following formula:

Current Index = Current Total Market-Cap / Divisor × Base Level.

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SSE Composite Weighting By Sector

Here’s how each sector is weighted in the SSE Composite Index:

SectorWeight
Financials & Real Estate24.2%
Health Care6.9%
Consumer Staples10.4%
Consumer Discretionary8.1%
Industrials20.1%
Materials10.6%
Energy5.4%
Utilities4.0%
Telecommunications2.2%
Information Technology8.3%

The two industries that have an outsized impact on the SSE Composite Index are financials and industrials, which contribute to a combined weight of almost 45% of the index. 

Key Takeaways From Everything You Need To Know About The Shanghai Stock Exchange

  • The Shanghai Stock Exchange is one of the largest exchanges in Asia and one of two equities exchange in China - the other being Shenzhen
  • The SSE is a rare exception, as it is a non-profit organization that is entirely operated by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC)
  • The SSE Composite is the benchmark index of the exchange and includes over 1,600 companies among its ranks
  • The SSE is primarily dominated by the financial and industrial sectors, with many banks and mining/manufacturing companies listed there
  • The exchange is home to a large number of partially state-owned companies and is less accessible to foreign investors than the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, where many Chinese companies get access to foreign capital 

FAQs On Everything You Need To Know About The Shanghai Stock Exchange

How many stocks are there on the Shanghai Stock Exchange?

The Shanghai Stock Exchange is home to a total of over 2,000 listed equities, out of which, 1,600 make up the SSE Composite - the benchmark index of the exchange. 

What is the biggest stock on the Shanghai Stock Exchange?

The beverage company Kweichow Moutai is the largest company listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, with a total market capitalization of $335 billion. The stock is part of the SSE 50 index. 

Is the Shanghai Stock Exchange the only stock exchange in China?

No. The Shanghai Stock Exchange is one of two exchanges in Mainland China - the other being the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.