Standing at the historical juncture between the 14th and 15th Five-Year Plan periods, Sinopec Group has decided, after internal deliberation, to launch a special initiative to enhance the market value of its listed companies, with the aim of increasing investment value and strengthening shareholder returns. The announcement was made on December 16 by Cai Yong, Chief Accountant of China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group), at the group’s first joint investor communication event for listed companies.

Sinopec Group is the world’s largest refining company and the second-largest chemical producer, with nine listed companies, many of which have grown into industry leaders or champions in niche segments.

Market observers believe that central state-owned enterprises organizing investor communication activities for their listed subsidiaries helps convey operating conditions, strategic planning, and industry prospects, reducing information asymmetry and enabling investors to better understand the intrinsic value of SOEs, thereby facilitating a more rational valuation. The launch of the market value enhancement initiative also represents a new practice in market value management, expected to promote deeper reforms and ultimately establish a virtuous cycle of “value creation–value discovery–value realization.”

It is understood that Sinopec Group has built a listed-company matrix covering the entire energy industry chain, including oil and gas exploration, refining and chemicals, and equipment manufacturing. The group has continuously leveraged capital markets, completing over RMB 550 billion in various equity financings. Since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the total market capitalization of Sinopec Group’s listed companies has increased by RMB 220 billion, with an average annual dividend payout ratio exceeding 70%. Capital injections, share increases, and buybacks have totaled more than RMB 20 billion, contributing to capital market vitality and investor confidence.

According to Cai Yong, the market value enhancement initiative focuses on three key areas. First, it aims to improve governance efficiency by strengthening the management of listed companies, enhancing normalized management systems, and focusing on strategic positioning, capital operations and market value management, and capital market talent development. Second, it seeks to improve return mechanisms and share development gains by enhancing information disclosure quality, strengthening investor relations management, maintaining stable and predictable cash dividend policies, and orderly implementing share buybacks and increases. Third, it focuses on optimizing capital allocation and unlocking segment value through mergers and acquisitions, equity financing, and structural optimization, striving for sustained overall growth in market value during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.

Executives from nine listed companies under Sinopec Group participated in the event, including Sinopec Corp., Sinopec Oilfield Service Corporation, Sinopec Engineering Group, Shanghai Petrochemical, Sinopec Oilfield Equipment, and others. During the investor Q&A session, company executives addressed questions on business prospects, carbon fiber development, hydrogen equipment manufacturing, and R&D investment. Speakers emphasized confidence in achieving growth targets, expanding applications in new energy and new materials, and advancing hydrogen equipment and technological innovation.

Experts noted that this centrally coordinated market value enhancement initiative differs fundamentally from conventional market value management by emphasizing strategic synergy and deepening the value of state-owned assets. It aims to address the long-standing issue of valuation discounts for central SOEs, align market value management with long-term strategies such as strategic emerging industries and technological breakthroughs, and set a compliant and standardized benchmark for the broader capital market.