Since the beginning of this year, the private placement market has further rebounded. According to Wind data, as of February 19th, A-share companies have issued 32 private placement plans this year, a year-on-year increase of 28%. Among them, 17 private placements were used for financing the acquisition of other assets, accounting for 53.13%. Since the release of the "Opinions on Deepening the Market Reform of Mergers and Acquisitions of Listed Companies" (hereinafter referred to as the "Six Articles on Mergers and Acquisitions") at the end of September last year, the vitality of the merger and acquisition market has been further stimulated, and the number of major asset restructuring projects implemented through private placement has significantly increased. The private placement market has been steadily recovering since the fourth quarter of last year. According to Wind data, in the fourth quarter of last year, A-shares issued 110 private placement plans, a month on month increase of 89.66%. 42 private placement shares were listed, with a month on month increase of 90.91%, raising a total of 53.567 billion yuan, a month on month increase of 146.95%. Market insiders believe that there are two main reasons for the recovery of the private placement market since the fourth quarter of last year. On the one hand, after the introduction of the "Six Measures for Mergers and Acquisitions", the activity of mergers and acquisitions has significantly increased, and there have been more plans to implement major asset restructuring through private placement. Among the 110 private placement plans disclosed in the fourth quarter of last year, 44 were used to purchase assets, accounting for 40%. Overall, a total of 60 private placement plans were used to purchase assets throughout last year, with over 70% of the total in the fourth quarter. On the other hand, the A-share market has rebounded, investor confidence has recovered, and the attractiveness of private placements has significantly increased. According to Wind data statistics, the average discount rate for bidding based private placements in the fourth quarter of last year was 16.01%, higher than the average level in 2024 (15.22%). Since the beginning of this year, private placement projects have focused more on the direction of new quality productivity. From the 32 private placement plans released within the year, it can be seen that there are many private placement plans in the chemical, automotive and spare parts, and hardware equipment industries, all of which have 4 plans. From the perspective of sectors, companies listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board and the Growth Enterprise Market have released 13 orders, accounting for 40.63%. From the perspective of planned investment projects for private placement financing, the main focus is on areas such as chips, intelligent manufacturing, and new energy and materials. For example, Jiangsu Zhuosheng Microelectronics Co., Ltd. plans to raise no more than 3.5 billion yuan in additional funds. After deducting issuance expenses, the raised funds are intended to be used for RF chip manufacturing expansion projects and to supplement working capital; Anhui Liuguo Chemical Co., Ltd. plans to raise no more than 800 million yuan in additional funds. After deducting issuance expenses, the funds raised will be used to invest in the construction of a 280000 ton/year battery grade refined phosphoric acid project. In April last year, the China Securities Regulatory Commission released the "Sixteen Measures for Capital Market Services for High level Development of Technology Enterprises", which proposed to enhance the effectiveness and convenience of refinancing, and guide listed companies to invest their raised funds in relevant fields that are in line with the national economic development strategy and industrial orientation. Zhou Li stated that current private placement projects are more inclined to invest in semiconductors AI、 High end manufacturing, pharmaceutical and biological industries, and other new quality production directions are key areas supported by policies, and the number of projects financed through mergers and acquisitions has also significantly increased. Li Xiao, Deputy Director of the Capital Market Regulation and Reform Research Center at Central University of Finance and Economics, stated in an interview with reporters that it is expected that the demand for private placement in strategic emerging industries such as new energy, high-end manufacturing, and digital economy will significantly increase in the future, further promoting market structural differentiation. This year, with continuous policy efforts, the private placement market is once again welcoming favorable policies. On January 22, the Central Financial Office, China Securities Regulatory Commission and other departments jointly issued the "Implementation Plan for Promoting the Entry of Medium and Long term Funds into the Market" (hereinafter referred to as the "Implementation Plan"), which allows public funds, commercial insurance funds, basic pension insurance funds, enterprise annuity funds, bank wealth management and other strategic investors to participate in private placements of listed companies. In terms of participating in new stock subscription, private placement of listed companies, and listing recognition standards, equal policy treatment will be given to bank wealth management, insurance asset management, and public funds. Compared with ordinary investors, participating in private placements of listed companies as strategic investors can enjoy the policy of lock up issuance. Expanding the scope of strategic investors will bring richer sources of funding to pricing based private placement projects, thereby enhancing the activity of the pricing based private placement market and promoting the expansion of the market size. According to Ren Lang, an analyst at Open Source Securities, after relaxing the rules for identifying strategic investors, public funds and others may increase their investment in pricing based private placement projects, thereby enhancing the activity and market size of the pricing based private placement market. Zhou Li believes that firstly, the Implementation Plan expands the sources of market funds, which helps to improve financing efficiency. The scale of bank wealth management and insurance asset management funds is relatively large. As strategic investors participating in private placement, they can bring a large amount of incremental funds to the market, effectively alleviate the financing pressure of enterprises, and facilitate the smooth progress of large-scale projects. Secondly, it helps optimize the investor structure and strengthen the long-term investment concept. The lock up period for strategic investors is up to 18 months, and they have the willingness and ability to participate in corporate governance, which can promote the improvement of governance structure and operational efficiency of listed companies, while reducing short-term speculative behavior and enhancing market stability. Finally, it helps to promote the deep integration of the capital market and the real economy. By guiding medium - and long-term funding to support private placement projects in the field of new quality productivity, we provide strong support for high-quality economic development. Li Xiao stated that in the future, with more institutions participating in private placement projects, it is expected to reduce the financing costs of listed companies. At the same time, long-term funds such as insurance funds and pension funds pay more attention to corporate governance and ESG performance, which helps listed companies improve the quality of information disclosure and strengthen strategic coordination. (New Society)