Shenzhen took the third place, following Shanghai and Beijing, with a total of 39 listed companies entering the 2021 Innovation Index Report of Top 500 Chinese Listed Companies, which was jointly released by the School of Management of Zhejiang University and Shenxin Communication Think Tank of Shenzhen News Group.
Shanghai took the lead with 56 companies and was followed by Beijing with 50. Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Nanjing took fourth, fifth and sixth places with 30, 18 and 14, respectively. Among the top 500 listed companies, 207 companies came from the top six cities.
Guangdong Province took the top spot with 81 listed companies entering the list. Zhejiang and Jiangsu ranked the second and third with 75 and 59 enterprises on the list, respectively.
The report evaluated 2,384 companies listed in China’s A-share markets in two dimensions which include innovation strength and innovation efficiency. The report showed Shenzhen, an innovation-oriented city, performed well in innovation strength but needs improvement in innovation efficiency.
The number of innovative companies does not have positive correlation with innovation strength and efficiency, according to the report.
In terms of distribution of industries, innovative companies in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Hangzhou are all involved in computer, communication and other electronic equipment manufacturing. Among the listed companies from Shenzhen, 10 companies are engaged in computer, communication and other electronic devices, accounting for 26 percent of total listed companies.
The report also analyzed industries of top 500 companies from Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong and Fujian provinces. Among the 81 Guangdong companies, 20 percent are engaged in computer, communication and other electronic devices manufacturing and 13.6 percent, or 11 firms, are engaged in electric machinery and equipment manufacturing and pharmaceutical manufacturing.