Shanghai International Airport Co Ltd

The enthusiasm of insurance funds for building stakes in listed companies has clearly cooled this year. As of September 30, five insurers had built stakes in listed company stocks eight times, while in the first three quarters of 2025, 13 insurers had done so more than 30 times. Among the institutions, Ping An Life was the most active, completing four stake-building moves involving Agricultural Bank of China, China Merchants Bank, and China Life's H shares, with China Life being targeted twice. In addition, CPIC Life built a stake in Shanghai Airport, Fude Property Insurance in Yakang, Lian Life in Zhongshan Public Utilities, and New China Life in AviChina Industry and Technology in September. In terms of timing, the pace of insurance fund stake-building has been relatively steady this year, with four instances in the first quarter, only one in the second, and one each in July, August, and September of the third quarter. The most recent stake-building came from New China Life, which on September 22 increased its holding of AviChina Industry and Technology H shares by 16.876 million shares through centralized bidding on the secondary market, accounting for about 0.27% of the total issued H share capital of AviChina Industry and Technology. After the increase, it held a total of about 321 million H shares, with its shareholding ratio rising from 4.89% to 5.17%, triggering the stake-building disclosure. As of September 22, the company's total book balance of holdings in AviChina Industry and Technology was 822 million yuan, accounting for 0.04% of its total assets at the end of the previous quarter. As of the end of June this year, New China Life's book balance of equity assets was 440.275 billion yuan, accounting for 24.34% of its total assets at the end of the previous quarter. Compared with last year, this year's insurance fund stake-building has not only decreased significantly in number but also changed in target structure. In 2025, insurance fund stake-building was relatively concentrated in high-dividend financial stocks such as banks and insurers, especially H shares. This year's eight stake-building moves covered banks, insurance, transportation, public utilities, computing power infrastructure, and aviation technology. It is worth noting that the decline in stake-building frequency does not mean insurance funds are shrinking their equity allocation. Since the beginning of this year, insurance funds have continued to increase equity asset allocation, not only through direct purchases on the secondary market but also through negotiated transfers and IPO strategic placements.

Shanghai Airport released its 2026 interim report, with net profit attributable to the parent company of 1.216 billion yuan, an increase of 172 million yuan compared with the same period last year, up 16.46% year on year, marking four consecutive years of growth. The company's total operating revenue was 6.503 billion yuan, up 2.35% year on year, achieving five consecutive years of growth. Net cash inflow from operating activities was 2.27 billion yuan. The company's latest asset-liability ratio was 37.33%, gross margin was 24.74%, return on equity was 2.82%, and diluted earnings per share was 0.49 yuan.

On the evening of August 19, multiple A-share listed companies disclosed their half-year reports and planned substantial dividends. Dingtai High-Tech plans to distribute a cash dividend of 10 yuan per 10 shares, including tax, totaling 424 million yuan in cash dividends, including tax. Allist plans to distribute a cash dividend of 10 yuan per 10 shares, including tax, totaling 424 million yuan in cash dividends, including tax. Accelink Technologies plans to distribute a cash dividend of 3.7 yuan per 10 shares, including tax, totaling 306 million yuan in cash dividends, including tax. XTC New Energy Materials plans to distribute a cash dividend of 3 yuan per 10 shares, including tax, totaling 151 million yuan in cash dividends, including tax. HSC New Energy Materials plans to distribute a cash dividend of 3 yuan per 10 shares, including tax, totaling 46.4157 million yuan in cash dividends, including tax. Shanghai Airport plans to distribute a cash dividend of 2.7 yuan per 10 shares, including tax, totaling 672 million yuan in cash dividends, including tax. Hualu Hengsheng plans to distribute a cash dividend of 2.6 yuan per 10 shares, including tax, totaling 715 million yuan in cash dividends, including tax.

The A-share market, amid volatile adjustments, is seeing a concentrated wave of dividend distributions. On July 28 alone, 20 listed companies carried out ex-rights and dividend payments, distributing a total of approximately 10.7 billion yuan in cash. Among them, China Railway Construction paid out 4.074 billion yuan, Huayu Automotive Systems paid 3.153 billion yuan, and Huaneng Mengdian paid 1.724 billion yuan. Several brokerages, including Guolian Minsheng, Dongxing Securities, and Cinda Securities, also distributed dividends exceeding 100 million yuan each. Meanwhile, within the month, nine companies have disclosed their 2026 interim dividend plans, with total proposed payouts exceeding 25 billion yuan. Zijin Mining leads with a proposed payout of 11.136 billion yuan, while Hikvision and CATL plan to distribute 5.041 billion yuan and 6.493 billion yuan respectively. Most companies reported strong first-half earnings, with some posting significant net profit growth, providing support for the dividends. Additionally, Shanghai Airport's controlling shareholder has proposed raising the interim cash dividend payout ratio to around 55 percent, and Changchuan Technology is expected to carry out its first interim dividend since listing.

On the evening of July 20, nearly 100 companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange disclosed a flurry of positive news, covering buybacks, increased holdings, upbeat earnings, interim dividends, and long-term insurance capital investment. On that day, 16 companies announced new buyback plans with a combined upper limit of 4.5 billion yuan, and 9 companies announced new shareholding increase plans with a combined upper limit of 6.875 billion yuan, bringing the total to 11.375 billion yuan. Another 30 companies released progress updates on buybacks and increased holdings. On the semi-annual earnings front, 15 Shanghai-listed companies reported positive results. Shanghai International Port Group expects a net profit attributable to shareholders of approximately 8.47 billion yuan for the first half, up about 5.35 percent year-on-year. Shanghai Electric expects a net profit of 920 million to 1 billion yuan, up about 12 to 22 percent. Putailai expects a net profit of 1.4 billion to 1.5 billion yuan, up 32.66 to 42.14 percent. Jihua Group achieved a net profit of 474 million yuan, surging 1,272.52 percent. Bank of Chongqing posted a net profit of 3.518 billion yuan, up 10.28 percent. Ten companies disclosed interim dividend plans. The controlling shareholders or chairmen of six companies—Chint Electrics, Yiwu China Commodities City, Industrial Securities, Juhua Group, Hualu Hengsheng, and Hundsun Technologies—proposed interim dividends. The controlling shareholder of Shanghai Airport proposed raising the interim dividend payout ratio. Several companies' shareholders pledged not to reduce holdings or terminated reduction plans early. For example, the controlling shareholder and actual controller of Keli Sensing voluntarily committed not to reduce holdings, and Bethel Automotive announced that its shareholder did not reduce holdings and terminated the reduction plan early. In the insurance sector, China Pacific Insurance, Ping An Insurance, and New China Life Insurance expressed firm support for capital market development, vowing to leverage the advantages of insurance funds, adhere to long-term and prudent investment principles, support the cultivation of new quality productive forces, act as patient capital in the market, and firmly implement profit distribution policies by optimizing dividend frequency and carrying out interim dividends to enhance shareholder returns.

China Pacific Insurance, Ping An Insurance, and other insurers have stated they will increase equity allocations and act as patient capital. Zhongtai Securities and Hongta Securities announced share buyback plans, while Bosera Funds declared it will invest 50 million yuan in equity funds. Meanwhile, multiple listed companies including Flush, Chint Electrics, Hikvision, Juhua Group, and Shanghai Airport announced interim dividend plans. China Pacific Insurance said it will continue investing in stocks and ETFs in sectors such as technology growth, consumer, and new energy. Ping An Insurance stated it will boost investment in strategic emerging industries and advanced manufacturing. Zhongtai Securities plans to buy back shares worth 100 million to 200 million yuan, and Hongta Securities plans to buy back shares worth 50 million to 100 million yuan. Flush plans a cash dividend of 2 yuan per 10 shares, Chint Electrics plans 0.5 yuan per 10 shares, Hikvision plans 5.50 yuan per 10 shares, Juhua Group plans 2.20 yuan per 10 shares, and Shanghai Airport's controlling shareholder proposed raising the 2026 interim cash dividend payout ratio to around 55 percent.

Hikvision's chairman proposes a cash dividend of 5.5 yuan per 10 shares to all shareholders, with the total interim cash dividend reaching 5.041 billion yuan, up from 3.666 billion yuan in the 2025 interim period. Hithink RoyalFlush plans to distribute 2 yuan per 10 shares, totaling approximately 151 million yuan, a significant increase from 54 million yuan in the same period last year. The controlling shareholder of Shanghai Airport proposes raising the 2026 interim cash dividend payout ratio to around 55 percent. Changchuan Technology and Yiwu China Commodity City each announced their first-ever interim dividend plans since listing. Industry insiders point out that improving corporate earnings, long-term capital's preference for high dividends, and ongoing regulatory guidance on dividend distribution are jointly driving this wave of interim dividends.