On July 22nd, China Railway Signal & Communication Co., Ltd., the flagship of China's rail transportation control industry, was listed on SSE STAR Market (stock code: 688009; abbreviation: CRSC). It issued 1.8 billion shares at 5.85 yuan/share, raising 10.53 billion yuan, and becoming the first large central enterprise and A+H share listed company on STAR Market.
The opening price was 11.7 yuan, up by 100% from the issue price; as of 10:30, the share price stood at 11.99 yuan, increasing by 104.44%, valuing the company at 113.1 billion yuan, and making CRSC the first 100-billion-yuan company on STAR Market and Top 100 company in market capitalization on the A share market.
According to public records, CRSC's controlling shareholder is China Railway Signal & Communication Group Co., Ltd., and its actual controller SASAC. With focus on research and exploration of rail transportation control system technologies, it supports China's rail transportation with safe and efficient core technologies, providing integrated one-stop services through its proven business model covering design & integration, equipment manufacture and system delivery. CRSC was listed on SEHK Main Board in August 2015, which was Hong Kong's fourth largest IPO of the year.
As a key promoter of HSRs as China's business card, CRSC pursues innovation-driven development, and utilizes innovative R&D mechanisms and highly-qualified R&D staff to promote the applied research on key products and accelerate the commercialization of research results. According to the prospectus, by the end of 2018, it had 1,421 registered patents in China, ranking No.1 on STAR Market. Through independent innovation, CRSC has developed proprietary IPRs for its core train control technologies and achieved 100% localization of its products, becoming a global leader in automatic control technologies for high-speed railways, intercity railways, subways and marshalling yards of freight railways.
CRSC's prominent overall strength in technical innovation has brought about its market competitiveness. According to the prospectus, its core products and services have covered over 80 urban transit lines in China that have started operation or completed bidding; within the reporting period, its market share approximated 40% in accepted contract amount. While maintaining continuous growth in the domestic market, CRSC is also exploring the overseas market and further enhancing its global influence.
With China's development into a transport power, CRSC undertakes to advance the national railway signaling & communication industry to the world as a global leader in rail transportation control systems; strengthens its involvement in global competition and accelerates its transformation into a world-class multinational industry group featuring rail transportation control technologies by accelerating its scientific & technical innovation and transformation & upgrading; utilizing its overall advantages across the industrial chain; and making strategic breakthroughs in industrial & product structure readjustment, historic breakthroughs in core technologies, and breakthroughs in the overseas presence of China's HSR standards and industry.
CRSC has become the only central enterprise and largest enterprise in fund-raising amount on STAR Market. It is noteworthy that the stock gained so much popularity that it became the first with over 3 million subscribers on STAR Market, with an effective subscription multiple of 665. Many institutions are optimistic about the company's post-listing performance. Huachuang Securities rated CRSC as "recommended" in its research report, which expects continuous enhancement of its profitability based on the growth of the control system market in next two years.