At the heart of China’s techno-nationalism is a hit list of 200 unicorns
A new report shows China now has 164 unicorns, worth a combined US$628.4 billion, which has galloped well ahead of the US by number
As the Chinese government continues to gear up for what’s increasingly looking like its “techno-nationalism” push, officials are believed to have created a hit list of some 200 top firms, that it hopes to see listed on mainland bourses.
Together with a set of new rules issued by the State Council, China’s cabinet, on Friday evening that focused on regulating Chinese Depositary Receipts (CDRs) offering by overseas listed tech giants like Alibaba, a campaign by Beijing is in full swing to get its most innovative companies listed on the home market.
And the country’s Party leaders, regulators, and bankers, alike, are actively now knocking on their doors.
But analysts have reservations on whether such a frenzied push will result in the desired sustained levels of innovation, or prove to be just a short-lived gold rush, led by opportunists.
The firms themselves, they add, could also face what for many is becoming a moral dilemma: a tough choice between political duty, and the sound economic reasoning needed before taking the big step to list.
“In its attempt to establish the next generation of tech ‘unicorns’ [start-ups worth more than US$1 billion], China has ironically injected nationalism into its development process,” says Brock Silvers, managing director of Kaiyuan Capital, a Shanghai-based investment advisory firm.