BEIJING - Firms listed on China's Nasdaq-style Science and Technology Innovation Board, also known as the STAR Market, have shown growth resilience and high-quality development with hard technology playing a pivotal role in the first three quarters of 2025, according to the quarterly reports of the companies.

During the period, STAR Market companies achieved operating revenue of 1.11 trillion yuan (about $156.02 billion), a year-on-year increase of 7.9 percent. Their net profit reached 49.27 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 8.9 percent.

These companies achieved a significant year-on-year increase of 75 percent in net profit in the third quarter, demonstrating a strong momentum of development.  

In the first nine months, over 70 percent of the companies achieved revenue growth, and nearly 60 percent of them recorded net profit growth. Some 158 companies saw their net profit increase by more than 50 percent and 46 companies turned losses into profits.

The reports show that the hard technology sector -- including integrated circuits, chip design, artificial intelligence, biomedicine and new energy companies -- has shown a thriving trend, driven by reform efforts and robust R&D expenditure.

In the integrated circuit industry, the total 121 enterprises achieved a year-on-year increase of 25 percent in combined operating revenue and a year-on-year growth of 67 percent in combined net profit in the first three quarters.

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In the chip design sector, benefiting from the boost in downstream demand, 80 percent of enterprises achieved revenue growth and 60 percent saw net profit growth during the period, with an overall year-on-year net profit increase of 141 percent.

The total R&D investment of STAR Market companies reached 119.75 billion yuan, 2.4 times the board's net profit, with a median R&D intensity of 12.4 percent -- remaining significantly higher than other sectors of the A-share market.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the country's securities regulator, announced the setting up of the sci-tech growth tier on June 18 this year, with an aim to provide better support for high-quality tech enterprises that were not yet profitable.

Since June, the STAR Market has been steadily advancing reforms, including the pilot introduction of senior professional institutional investors and pre-review mechanisms.

Industry experts believe that with sustained policy implementation and the steady release of enterprises' internal growth drivers, the STAR Market is poised to cultivate more leading hard technology enterprises and further advance China's drive for high-level technological self-reliance.