The pace of share buybacks and increased holdings by publicly listed firms accelerated, with banks stepping up their financial support.

As publicly listed firms are optimistic about the development prospects of the capital market, an increasing number of listed companies and executives are joining the ranks of share buybacks and holdings.

According to statistics from a Caixin reporter, in the last three trading days (April 7 to April 9), 114 listed companies announced share buyback plans or shareholder proposals for buybacks, with a maximum intended buyback amount of 42.07 billion yuan. Additionally, 68 listed companies proposed shareholder holding increase plans, with a maximum intended holding increase amount of 38.236 billion yuan. The combined total of these two amounts reached 80.306 billion yuan.

In the share buyback and holding increase plans, in addition to self-owned funds, the proportion of bank loans is also increasing.

On the evening of April 8, China Chengtong announced that it plans to use 100 billion yuan from stock buyback and holding increase re-loan funds to increase holdings of listed company stocks. On the same day, China Guoxin stated that it would increase holdings through stock buyback and holding increase re-loans, with the first batch amounting to 80 billion yuan. The combined re-loan amount from these two institutions alone will reach 180 billion yuan.

Wind data shows that as of April 10, a total of 458 listed companies have officially disclosed re-loans for buybacks and holding increases, with a combined amount of 90.5 billion yuan.

On September 24, 2024, Pan Gongsheng, the Governor of the People's Bank of China, stated that the central bank supports listed companies in buybacks and holding increase loans by providing re-loans to commercial banks, with a funding support ratio of 100%. "The initial quota is 300 billion yuan, and it can be increased if necessary."

A banking analyst from a Beijing brokerage told Caixin that this round of holding increases and buybacks is an "unexpected" business opportunity for banks, aligning with the current macro environment and directly helping banks extend Q1 credit.

It is worth noting that many commercial banks are keenly seizing this opportunity to promote re-loan business for holding increases and buybacks.

Caixin reporters noted that recently, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank, China Merchants Bank, Industrial Bank, and China Zheshang Bank, among other state-owned banks, have released the latest data and stated that they will increase the deployment of re-loan business for holding increases and buybacks.

For example, China Construction Bank stated that to better serve the stock buyback and holding increase needs of listed companies, it has actively visited listed companies and has engaged with over 80 interested companies for stock buyback and holding increase loan business. Agricultural Bank of China stated on its official website that it will continue to increase the promotion of stock buyback and holding increase loan business to achieve larger-scale deployment.

In terms of deployment data, the scale and progress vary among banks.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China revealed that as of now, it has supported and reserved nearly 400 projects, involving transaction amounts exceeding 100 billion yuan, covering the main board, ChiNext, and STAR Market, among other sectors. It has met the funding needs of nearly 50 billion yuan for enterprises, helping to maintain the stable operation of the capital market.

As of the end of March, Agricultural Bank of China has provided specialized loan services for stock buybacks and holding increases to 53 listed companies in various fields such as "agriculture, rural areas, and farmers," advanced manufacturing, and green finance, with loan contract amounts exceeding 15 billion yuan and deployed amounts exceeding 8.5 billion yuan.

Among joint-stock banks, China Merchants Bank provided data to Caixin showing that as of April 6, it has approved 288 projects for buyback and holding increase loans, with financing amounts reaching 104.8 billion yuan.

Industrial Bank just released data showing that as of the end of March, it has reached cooperation agreements with 44 listed companies or major shareholders for stock buyback and holding increase loans and completed announcements, with a maximum loan scale exceeding 6.6 billion yuan, of which private enterprises account for over 80%, and technology enterprises account for over 60%.

In terms of supported fields, it covers multiple "hard tech" fields such as semiconductors, biopharmaceuticals, and software services, providing incremental funds to the capital market and precisely serving new quality productive forces.

China Zheshang Bank released data showing that as of April 9, it has reached intent cooperation agreements with nearly 60 listed companies and shareholders for stock buyback and holding increase loans, with reserved intended buyback and holding increase amounts exceeding 8 billion yuan and credit funds exceeding 5 billion yuan.

It is worth noting that some commercial banks have also used their own funds to join the ranks of listed companies in buybacks and holding increases.

On April 8, Postal Savings Bank of China, China Everbright Bank, China Zheshang Bank, and Bank of Chengdu were the first to announce major shareholder holding increases, with China Zheshang Bank being a personal holding increase by executives.

By April 9, Bank of Jiangsu and Huaxia Bank continued to announce voluntary holding increase plans by executives.