Investment banking enters the "New Three Kingdoms" era, driven by key industry migrations. 301 firms are queuing up—beware of hidden dammed lakes.

Ask AI · How will the new “Three Kingdoms” pattern reshape the IPO market ecosystem?

Caixin-linked Finance News (27 Mar) (reporter Gao Yanyun) In the first quarter of 2026, the A-share IPO market is undergoing profound structural reshaping beneath the surface of stable volume.

Latest data compiled show that as of March 26, the number of companies that have issued and gone public this year totals 25, up 1 year-on-year, an increase of 4.17%; the total amount of funds raised is RMB 22.22B, up RMB 7.69B year-on-year, an increase of 52.95%. Compared with last year’s fourth quarter on a quarter-on-quarter basis, it decreased by 13, and the IPO financing amount fell 59.27% quarter-on-quarter.

A total of 301 companies are queuing under review, up 106 compared with the same time last year, an increase of 54.36%. Only 8 IPO companies were terminated within the year, all due to withdrawal of materials, down 82.98% from the same period last year. This year, four newly accepted companies were added to the pipeline; three are companies planned to list on the STAR Market, and one is for the Beijing Stock Exchange. The number of newly accepted filings is not very different from the same period last year, when it was 6.

Overall, the current IPO market presents a complex picture where “stable volume but rising prices” coexists with “backlog of existing supply.” Listing numbers edged up slightly while fundraising amounts surged by more than 50%, reflecting a structural divergence in which capital highly concentrates in leading assets. At the same time, with the number of companies under review spiking and terminations and withdrawals falling by roughly 80% on a sharp basis, it signals that “an invisible bottleneck” in the review process is taking shape.

Beijing Stock Exchange companies listed the most in the first quarter

YiDong data shows that the board with the most listed companies in the year is the Beijing Stock Exchange, with 13; the board with the highest total funds raised is the STAR Market, at RMB 7.87B.

Specifically, the STAR Market has 5 listed companies, raising RMB 7.87B; the Beijing Stock Exchange has 13 listed companies, raising RMB 3.96B; the ChiNext Market has 2 listed companies, raising RMB 3.32B; the Shanghai main board has 4 listed companies, raising RMB 6.43B; and the Shenzhen main board has 1 listed company, raising RMB 646M.

The top 5 industries by funds raised are electronics (RMB 4.04B), defense and military industry (RMB 3.76B), automobiles (RMB 3.45 billion), building materials (RMB 3.11B), and biopharmaceuticals (RMB 1.64B).

The region with the most listed companies and the highest total funds raised is Zhejiang (excluding Ningbo), with 6 listed companies and total fundraising of RMB 5.38B. Other regions that can enter the IPO fundraising TOP5 are Anhui (RMB 2.98B), Shenzhen (RMB 2.56 billion), Jiangsu (RMB 2.21B), and Sichuan (RMB 2.12B).

Market participants believe that against a backdrop of broadly steady numbers of companies getting listed, the sharp rise in total fundraising amounts demonstrates the market’s strong demand for leading high-quality assets. Meanwhile, the significant quarter-on-quarter decline is mainly attributable to the seasonal holiday recess around the Spring Festival and the reporting-season reset; it has not changed the long-term logic of the market’s mild recovery.

The first quarter includes the Spring Festival holiday, which reduces the effective trading days. More importantly, listed companies need to disclose their annual reports, and the IPO review and issuance pace in January and February is typically voluntarily slowed down or paused due to updates from financial reports.

16 brokers share IPO underwriting profits in the first quarter

A total of 16 securities firms participated in the above companies’ IPO sponsorship and underwriting business. China International Capital Corporation (CICC) had the most sponsored and listed projects, with 4 deals. Soochow Securities was the “dark horse” in IPO sponsorship in the first quarter, with 3 IPO sponsorships, ranking second. There are 5 brokers with 2 deals each: Shenwan Hongyuan Securities Underwriting and Sponsorship, Guotai Junan Hai Tong, CITIC Securities, China International Water & Electric? Securities? (国投证券), and GPG? Securities? (国金证券).

The 9 brokers with 1 sponsorship deal each are: CITIC Jian? Investment? (中信建投), Minsheng Securities, Yangtze Securities Underwriting and Sponsorship, Zheshang Securities, Guoxin Securities, Debon Securities, ShenGang Securities, Dongxing Securities, and West China Securities.

China International Capital Corporation (CICC)’s sponsored IPO projects lead by a wide margin in actual raised funds, at RMB 8B. The other two with large actual raised funds are Shenwan Hongyuan Securities Underwriting and Sponsorship (RMB 6.12B) and Guotai Junan Hai Tong (RMB 3.36B).

The total underwriting fee for IPO sponsorship and underwriting across brokers is RMB 2.94B. Among them, CICC’s sponsorship fee is far ahead at RMB 1.25B, which is 47.09% more than the second place. Brokers with sponsorship underwriting fees exceeding RMB 100 million also include Guotai Junan Hai Tong (RMB 253M), Shenwan Hongyuan Securities Underwriting and Sponsorship (RMB 0.142 billion), Soochow Securities (RMB 172M), CITIC Securities (RMB 142M), and China International Water & Electric? Securities? (国投证券) (RMB 133M)

The overall average underwriting fee rate is 5.51%. The lowest underwriting fee rate is 2.37%, representing the fee level of CITIC Guojian? Securities? (中信建投). The highest underwriting fee rate is 10.14%, representing the fee level of ShenGang Securities (申港证券). Another broker with a fee rate above 10% is Zheshang Securities (浙商证券), with a sponsorship underwriting fee rate of 10.1%.

The underwriting fee rate differences are significant (2.37%~10.14%). Usually, this may relate to project size and the “big projects, low fee” strategy of brokers. Although CITIC Guojian? (中信建投) only sponsored 1 deal, the single deal’s fundraising amount is as high as RMB 131M, and the fee rate is also the lowest (2.37%), reflecting the characteristics of “big projects, low fee.”

301 companies are queuing under review

Among the 301 companies queuing under review, the board with the most is the Beijing Stock Exchange, with 188 companies. Compared with 95 more companies at the same point last year, the increase is 102.15%. Other boards under review are: STAR Market (43), ChiNext (35), Shanghai main board (19), and Shenzhen main board (16).

Some believe that under the comprehensive registration system, with the STAR Market, ChiNext, and main boards significantly raising requirements for profitability and “STAR Market-type” innovation attributes, many mid-sized and small companies that originally planned to target the dual-innovation boards have proactively shifted to the Beijing Stock Exchange, which has relatively more inclusive entry thresholds and a faster review cadence. The Beijing Stock Exchange has already officially assumed the role as the main channel for listings of “specialized, refined, unique, and innovative” (专精特新) mid-sized and small enterprises in the capital market.

The above companies queuing under review are sponsored and underwritten by 42 securities firms, with an estimated total fundraising of RMB 1.65B. The broker with the most underwriting and sponsorship deals is Guotai Junan Hai Tong, with 37 deals; CITIC Securities ranks next with 35 deals.

Brokers with more than 10 deals under review are specifically: Guotai Junan Hai Tong (37 deals), CITIC Securities (35), CITIC Guojian? (中信建投) (25), CICC (23), Huatai United (14), 广发证券 (13), Oriental Securities (11), Shenwan Hongyuan Securities Underwriting and Sponsorship (10), Open Source Securities (10), and Guolian Minsheng Securities Underwriting and Sponsorship (10).

From the fundraising amount dimension, there are 2 brokers whose planned-to-list project financing scale is relatively large: CICC and CITIC Securities. For CICC, which ranks 4th by the number of companies in the queue under review, its fundraising amount ranks first. Its expected fundraising amount is as high as RMB 357.64B, making CICC the only broker among those with projects under review whose financing exceeds RMB 100 billion.

CITIC Securities ranks second, with expected total fundraising of RMB 8B. This fundraising amount exceeds the financing amount of Guotai Junan Hai Tong, the top sponsor by number of companies queuing under review, by more than 1 times. Guotai Junan Hai Tong’s projects under review are expected to raise a total of RMB 37.5B. In addition, CITIC Guojian? (中信建投) also exceeds Guotai Junan Hai Tong: CITIC Guojian’s sponsored projects are expected to raise RMB 46.5B.

Three other brokers also have fundraising amounts that are relatively high for their sponsored projects: Huatai United (RMB 15.19B), GF Securities (RMB 14.1B), and Oriental Securities (RMB 9.33B).

Industry insiders point out that in 2026, Chinese investment banks enter a “new Three Kingdoms era.” Under the wave of broker M&A, industry concentration increases markedly. The “number king”: Guotai Junan Hai Tong (merger dividends + Beijing Stock Exchange strategy), wins in breadth of scale. The “amount king”: CICC (high-end client moat), wins in project depth and quality. The “all-round king”: CITIC Securities remains at the top in both number and amount, with no obvious weaknesses.

8 companies terminated IPO material submissions

Among the 8 terminated IPO companies, there are 3 on the STAR Market. The Beijing Stock Exchange and ChiNext each have 2 terminations, and the Shanghai main board has 1.

The 7 brokers involved include: Huatai United has more projects, with 2 deals. The specific IPO projects terminated are: Xiaoxiao Technology sponsored by Yuan? Securities? (国元证券), BAI? Dairy? (百菲乳业) sponsored by Guorong Securities, Jiang Song Technology sponsored by China International Water & Electric? Securities? (国投证券), Aedian Technology and Qinheng Micro sponsored by Huatai United Securities, Yi Jia Zeng Materials sponsored by CITIC Securities, Zhuhai Saiwei sponsored by Merchants Securities, and Zanding Technology sponsored by CITIC Guojian? Securities (中信建投证券).

Industry insiders believe that the 8 companies’ “voluntary withdrawal” reflects the new regulatory normal in 2026 IPOs: “questions are brought forward before feedback,” and “targeted risk detection.” With sharp questioning used in the review stage to identify performance and “STAR Market-type” innovation attribute hard flaws early, projects are forced to “know it’s difficult and step back,” marking that “strictly controlling the entry gate” has shifted from a policy slogan to a routine market-clearing mechanism.

Of particular note is that the STAR Market terminations highlight tightening standards for “hard technologies.” The failure of projects from leading and mid-to-small brokers proves that under a penetrative review, any capital packaging cannot conceal a company’s substantive deficiencies, forcing the entire industry back to the core responsibility of “being the gatekeeper.”

( Caixin-linked Finance News reporter Gao Yanyun )