鼓勵外商投資企業在中國上市的最新政策
作者：金益亭 趙雯 余欣玥 殷企堯 2022-12-12Background
背景
In accordance with the Notice on Promulgation of the Several Policies and Measures for Expanding the Increment, Stabilizing the Stock and Improving Quality of Foreign Investment with Emphasis on Manufacturing Sector (《關于以制造業為重點促進外資擴增量穩存量提質量的若干政策措施》) (“the Notice”) jointly promulgated by the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Ecology and Environment and Ministry of Transport on 13 October 2022, the Notice supports qualified foreign-invested enterprises (“FIE”) in raising funds by listing on the Main Board, the Science and Technology Innovation Board, the Growth Enterprise Market and Beijing Stock Exchange, and listing on the Basic and Innovative Tiers of the New Third Board and issuing corporate credit bonds. 2022年10月13日，中國國家發展和改革委員會、商務部、工業和信息化部、自然資源部、生態環境部、交通運輸部聯合發布《關于以制造業為重點促進外資擴增量穩存量提質量的若干政策措施》（以下簡稱“新政策措施”），提出“支持符合條件的外商投資企業通過在主板、科創板、創業板、北京證券交易所上市，在新三板基礎層和創新層掛牌，以及發行公司信用類債券進行融資。” The Notice is a strong signal that China will promote and encourage FIE to list here. Prior to this, the policy regarding the listing of FIE in China remained unclear. Even if there are a few FIE listed in China at present, the majority of them have Chinese roots and only few numbers are wholly foreign controlled. 這個新政策措施可以視為一個強有力的信號，表明了中國將會鼓勵和支持外商投資企業在中國上市。在此之前，外商投資企業在中國境內上市的政策并不十分明朗，雖然有少數外商投資企業在中國成功上市，但這些企業的大股東、實際控制人多數存在華裔背景，完全沒有中國背景的外商投資上市企業是少之又少。 This new strategy also corresponds to the new request of international investment entering China. International investors that came to China in the past to establish FIE are typically well-capitalized, and their primary requirement is the Chinese market, not investment capital. Recently, numerous foreign entrepreneurs with sophisticated technology require not only the enormous Chinese market but also diverse investment funds in China, such as Angel Investment, Venture Capital, Private Equity, etc. If FIE are successfully listed in China, it will serve as a significant motivation for foreign entrepreneurs to bring their technology to China and attract investment. 與此同時，這個新政策措施也契合了當下外資進入中國市場的新訴求。早前來中國設立外資企業的外國投資者，往往自帶充裕的資金，他們的主要訴求是龐大的中國市場。但近年來，一些擁有先進技術的外國企業家或創業者，他們不僅需要中國的廣闊市場，也謀求在中國能夠吸引各式投資，包括天使投資、風險投資、私募股權投資等等。如果外國企業家在中國設立的外商投資企業能夠在中國成功上市，這將極大鼓勵這些企業家將自身先進技術引入中國并獲得更多投資者的青睞。
Legal Changes and Status of FIE listing in China 外商投資企業在中國上市的法律變化及現狀
Previously, there were some legal disputes regarding whether foreign-funded enterprises may issue public shares. For instance, the Law on Sino-Foreign Joint Ventures (which has since expired) specifies that the sole acceptable organizational structure for Sino-foreign joint venture is limited liability company. Despite the fact that the aforementioned limitation of the organizational form of Sino-Foreign Joint Ventures was removed by the administrative regulation Interim Provisions on Certain Issues concerning the Establishment of Foreign Investment Limited by Shares (which is no longer in existence), there are numerous uncertainties impediments for FIE to list in China, both in terms of implementing rules and regulatory tendency. 在過去，對于外商投資企業能否公開發行股票存在一定的法律爭議。例如在《中外合資經營企業法》（已失效）中規定了，中外合資企業的組織形式只能為有限責任公司，雖然《關于設立外商投資股份有限公司若干問題的暫行規定》（已失效）這一行政規章打破了中外合資企業組織形式的局限性，但不難看出，無論是從實施細則還是監管傾向，外商投資企業在中國境內上市仍存在一定的不確定性。 Today, the Law on Sino-Foreign Joint Ventures was repealed in January 2020 and replaced by the Foreign Investment Law of the People's Republic of China, which went into effect at the same time. According to Article 17 of the Foreign Investment Law of the People's Republic of China, foreign-invested enterprises can raise capital by the public issuance of stocks, corporate bonds and other securities or other legal channels. 現今，《中外合資經營企業法》已于2020年1月被廢止，取而代之的是《中華人民共和國外商投資法》。根據《中華人民共和國外商投資法》第17條規定，外商投資企業可以依法通過公開發行股票、公司債券等證券和其他方式進行融資。 In addition to the legislative level, it is not difficult to observe that foreign-invested enterprises have steadily penetrated the domestic capital market. According to the holding status, there are 4,685 listed firms in China in 2021, of which 160 are foreign-owned listed companies, accounting for 3.42% of all listed companies in the end of 2021, 88 on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, 71 on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and 1 on the Beijing Stock Exchange. On September 30, 2022, the number of foreign-controlled listed businesses reached 170, accounting for 3.43% of all listed companies. 除了立法層面，在實踐中也不難看出，外商投資企業也已逐步走進境內的資本市場。根據上市企業控股類別的數據統計，2021年中國共有4,685家上市企業，其中外商控股企業有160家，占截至2021年底，所有上市公司的3.42%，其中在上海證券交易所上市的有88家，深圳證券交易所71家，北京證券交易所1家。截至2022年9月30日，上市的外商控股企業已經達到170家，占截至2022年9月30日國內所有上市公司的3.43%。
Classification structure of holding of listed companies in China in 2021/ 2021年上市公司控股情況分類結構 Classification structure of holding of listed companies in China from January 2022 to September 2022/ 2022年1-9月上市公司控股情況分類結構 Although the number of listed firms does not appear to be a big barrier for foreign-controlled companies seeking to go public in China's domestic capital market, the controlling shareholders of these foreign-controlled enterprises are primarily expatriates with Chinese roots. As a result, we hope that the issuance the Notice will send a clearer signal to the outside world that the Chinese government encourages and supports more qualified FIEs to list on the Chinese capital market, regardless of whether the actual holders of said FIEs have Chinese background or not. 盡管從上市公司數量上來看，外商投資企業的上市之路似乎在中國境內資本市場并沒有太大的障礙，但細究下來，這些外商投資企業的控股股東多為有中國背景的外籍人士。因此，我們希望這次新政策措施的出臺，能夠向外界釋放更明確的信號，即中國政府鼓勵和支持更多的符合要求的外商投資企業在中國資本市場上市，無論其實際控制人是否有中國的背景。 Other Factors Favoring the Initial Public Offering of FIE in China 其他有利于外商投資企業在中國上市的因素
In addition to the policy guidance mentioned above, China Securities Regulatory Commission Vice Chairman Xinghai Fang delivered a speech at the 5th Hongqiao International Economic Forum, inviting high-quality foreign investment institutions to invest and expand their business in China. Furthermore, the report of the Communist Party of China's 20th National Congress, held in October 2022, specifically proposed encouraging a high level of openness to the outside world using China's advantages. The domestic economy will attract global resource elements with a significant local circulation and strengthen the connection effect between domestic and international markets and resources. 除了上述的政策導向，證監會副主席方星海也在第五屆虹橋國際經濟論壇上發表演講，歡迎優質境外資本市場機構來華投資展業。除此之外，2022年10月召開的中國共產黨第二十次全國代表大會報告中明確提出：“要推進高水平對外開放。依托我國超大規模市場優勢，以國內大循環吸引全球資源要素，增強國內國際兩個市場兩種資源聯動效應。” It is expected that the Chinese economy will continue to improve the institutional framework for opening up the capital market to the outside world, accelerate the implementation of various opening initiatives, improve the inclusiveness of China Capital Market, encourage more FIEs to list in China and attract and gather more outstanding international institutions and talents to participate in China Capital Market in near future. 可以預見，進一步完善資本市場對外開放的制度框架，加快落實各項開放舉措，提高中國資本市場的包容度，鼓勵更多外商投資企業在中國上市，吸引和集聚更多優秀國際機構和人才參與我國資本市場，是近幾年我國經濟的發展趨勢。
