The General Office of the Guangdong Provincial People's Government has recently issued the "Action Plan for Accelerating the Construction of a Graded Cultivation System for Key Enterprises in Guangdong Province (2026-2030)." The plan aims to establish a nationally leading and globally competitive graded cultivation system for key enterprises by 2030. The targets include having over 20 Guangdong-based enterprises listed in the Fortune Global 500, over 65 in the China 500, and over 80 in the Top 500 Chinese Private Enterprises. Additionally, the plan seeks to cultivate a cumulative total of 100 unicorn enterprises over the five-year period.

Regarding the expansion and increase of the enterprise梯队, Guangdong aims to maintain a leading national position in the number of high-tech enterprises, with over 70,000 technology and innovation-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), over 40,000 specialized, sophisticated, distinctive, and innovative SMEs, over 4,500 national-level "little giant" enterprises, and over 350 national manufacturing single champion enterprises. The proportion of enterprise-led projects in the provincial key R&D programs will gradually increase to over 80% of total funding.

The Action Plan establishes a five-tier classification cultivation system to promote the cluster development of key enterprises. To consolidate and expand the group of leading enterprises, it supports world-class enterprises and technology-leading enterprises in participating in supply chain strengthening and extension plans, utilizing market-based methods such as shareholding, equity participation, and mergers and acquisitions to enhance the resilience of industrial and supply chains.

For vigorously cultivating the high-value enterprise group, a comprehensive cultivation system covering the entire process from "training, restructuring, guidance, application review, to listing" will be built. This supports "hard tech" enterprises and key enterprises in innovation, creativity, and the "three creations and four new" sectors to precisely connect with capital markets. It promotes more high-quality, yet unprofitable, enterprises to utilize the diversified listing standards of the STAR Market and ChiNext for IPO issuance. Listed companies are encouraged to conduct mergers and acquisitions in key upstream and downstream segments of their industrial chains to build large-market-cap listed firms. Support is also provided for Hong Kong-listed companies in the Greater Bay Area to issue Chinese Depository Receipts (CDR) on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. A provincial-level unicorn enterprise cultivation mechanism will be established, along with a unicorn enterprise service alliance. Guidance will be provided for state-owned capital to establish sound fault-tolerant and error-correction mechanisms to support unicorn enterprises in listing, financing, and issuing technology innovation bonds.

For steadily strengthening the backbone enterprise group and enhancing the vitality of the dynamic enterprise group, efforts to cultivate specialized, sophisticated, distinctive, and innovative SMEs will be intensified. Enterprises will be supported in developing specialized layouts for core basic components, key software, and advanced foundational processes. They are also encouraged to participate in the layout and construction of data infrastructure and supported in tackling key core technologies such as intelligent chips, basic software, and industrial vision.

Notably, the Action Plan specifies the cultivation of burgeoning new venture enterprises. It encourages and supports scientists, corporate executives, and others in active entrepreneurship. Support is provided for the development of OPCs (One Person Companies) in emerging future industries like artificial intelligence. The plan promotes the direct change of registration from individual businesses to enterprises, enabling seamless衔接 of relevant licenses and qualifications.

To create a first-class enterprise service ecosystem, the Action Plan proposes building nine major support systems. In terms of financial support, a comprehensive financing system covering angel investment, venture capital, and the entire chain will be健全. Patient capital, long-term capital, and bold capital that promote enterprise innovation and entrepreneurship will be developed and expanded, guiding capital to invest early, in small ventures, for the long term, and in hard technology. An "Enhanced Credit for Financing+" initiative will be launched to further standardize the development of supply chain finance.

Regarding talent要素 support, the implementation of the "Million Talents Converge in South Guangdong" action plan will be optimized, aiming to retain and attract one million new college graduates and various talents to work and start businesses in Guangdong annually. Within major provincial talent projects, key technology-leading enterprises will be granted autonomous recommendation quotas as per regulations.

For scenario cultivation and data empowerment, efforts will be made to vigorously promote the opening of scenario resources to facilitate the commercial application of new technologies and products. Exploration will be undertaken to establish provincial state-owned enterprises in the digital domain. Enterprises are encouraged to legally create and circulate high-quality datasets, promoting fair two-way authorization between industry leaders and SMEs.

In terms of the business environment, iterative reforms for a market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized business environment will be introduced. The comprehensive implementation of "code-scanning for enterprise entry" will ensure "no disturbance without cause." An inclusive and prudent institutional environment will be built, exploring "sandbox regulation" models that allow enterprises to conduct regulatory stress tests through pilot reforms under controlled risks, thereby promoting the application of new technologies, development of new products, and推广 of new models. The level of coordinated supervision will be enhanced by introducing third-party professional institutions to participate in regulation, assessing and warning of risks in the development of enterprises in new fields and tracks, thereby improving the scientific and precise nature of supervision.