On October 31, 2018, the Zhongguancun Listed Companies Association held a press conference in Beijing to release the “2018 Report on Competitiveness of Zhongguancun Listed Companies”. The report shows that the business performance of Zhongguancun listed companies grew moderately, and their innovation abilities improved steadily.

Yin Weidong, president of the association, delivered a keynote speech. Leaders and experts from the Zhongguancun Management Committee and other government departments, financial institutions and enterprises attended the meeting, where Association directors and presidents of listed companies in Zhongguancun discussed the report with media representatives.

I. R&D investment and patent output continued to grow.

In 2017, the total research and development expenses of Zhongguancun listed companies was RMB 122 billion, up 18% year-on-year; the average R&D intensity was 3.31%, much higher than that of A-share companies.

The patent output capacity of listed companies in Zhongguancun has been continuously enhanced. The data of various patent indicators has risen five years in a row.

In 2017, patent applications by these companies numbered 8,857 (up 4% year-on-year), and granted patent applications reached 5,435 (up 15% year-on-year). The total number of effective invention patents was 12,888 (up 42% year-on-year), and the PCT patent applications amounted to 1,695 (up 5% year-on-year).

The continuous growth of R&D investment and patent output reflects the further improvement of the innovation efficiency and capability of Zhongguancun listed companies.

Changes in R&D expenses and intensity of Zhongguancun listed companies [Figure provided to chinadaily.com.cn]