At the beginning of the new year, various regions have made efforts to support mergers and acquisitions. On January 8th, the Wuxi Municipal Government Office issued the "Action Plan for Promoting High Quality Development of Mergers and Acquisitions in Wuxi City (2025-2027)", proposing ten measures to support enterprises in carrying out mergers and acquisitions, and to promote enterprises to become bigger, stronger, and better; At the same time, the "Several Policy Measures to Support Enterprise Mergers and Acquisitions" were also released, proposing 8 specific policies. On January 10th, six departments including the Department of Industry and Information Technology of Anhui Province issued the "Several Policies of Anhui Province to Support Enterprises to Carry out Mergers and Acquisitions". In fact, since last year, with policy support, the activity of the M&A and restructuring market has significantly increased. According to statistics, in 2024, A-share companies disclosed more than 140 major asset restructurings, a year-on-year increase of about 30%. Since 2025, as of January 10th, in just 7 trading days, A-share companies have disclosed 7 major asset restructurings. Tian Lihui, Dean of the Institute of Financial Development at Nankai University, stated in an interview with Securities Daily that the merger and acquisition market is expected to become more active in 2025. With the continuous guidance of policies, corporate mergers and acquisitions will pay more attention to industrial synergy and value creation, and high-quality mergers and acquisitions are expected to become mainstream. At the same time, "new quality productivity" is gradually becoming a driving force for mergers and acquisitions, and cross-border mergers and innovative transaction methods will continue to emerge. Since 2024, mergers and acquisitions have ushered in a year of concentrated policy efforts. After the China Securities Regulatory Commission released the "Opinions on Deepening the Market Reform of Mergers and Acquisitions of Listed Companies" (also known as the "Six Articles on Mergers and Acquisitions") in September, Shanghai, Anhui and other places have successively introduced measures to support mergers and acquisitions. For example, in November 2024, the Financial Office of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee released the "Action Plan for Promoting High Quality Development of Mergers and Acquisitions in Shenzhen (2025-2027) (Draft for Public Solicitation of Opinions)", further leveraging the resource allocation function of mergers and acquisitions, adapting to the development needs of new quality productivity, and supporting Shenzhen listed companies to inject high-quality assets and enhance investment value. In December 2024, the General Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government issued the "Action Plan for Supporting Mergers and Acquisitions of Listed Companies in Shanghai (2025-2027)", focusing on strengthening the supply chain with new quality productivity, promoting the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, and supporting mergers and acquisitions of listed companies within its jurisdiction; The General Office of the People's Government of Anhui Province has issued the "Guiding Opinions on Supporting Enterprises to Carry out Mergers and Acquisitions", clarifying the three major directions of mergers and acquisitions, including key support for high-quality enterprises, key areas, and cross regional mergers and acquisitions. From the perspective of the "Six Measures for Mergers and Acquisitions" and the support measures introduced by local governments, the focus of this round of policies is on mergers and acquisitions in the field of science and technology innovation (new quality productivity), integration of upstream and downstream industrial chains, and absorption and merger among listed companies. In addition, local governments have also supported the development of merger and acquisition funds to provide financial support for mergers and acquisitions. In response to this, Zhang Xiaochun, a strategic analyst at Guolian Securities, stated in an interview with Securities Daily that from a macro perspective, mergers and acquisitions can help support local economic transformation and upgrading. From a micro perspective, mergers and acquisitions are important tools for enterprises to grow and strengthen, promote industrial integration and improve quality and efficiency, promote high-quality development of local listed companies, and enhance investment value. Since 2024, mergers and acquisitions in the technology sector have been active, and mergers and acquisitions are still mainly based on the logic of industrial mergers and acquisitions. More and more A-share companies are planning high-quality industrial mergers and acquisitions, optimizing their asset structure and business layout, and enhancing their core competitiveness. At the same time, there are significant characteristics such as active mergers and acquisitions in the technology sector, an increase in large-scale mergers and acquisitions between central and local state-owned enterprises (hereinafter referred to as "central state-owned enterprises"), and active participation of local state-owned assets in listed companies. Firstly, the targets of mergers and acquisitions are mostly technology companies. Zhang Xiaochun stated that the active M&A activity in the technology industry is a trend in the M&A and restructuring market in recent years. In recent years, mergers and acquisitions have emphasized both the integration of traditional industries, increasing industry concentration, and promoting the development of new quality productivity. Mergers and acquisitions in the technology industry are a major means of promoting the development of new quality productivity. Technology companies can achieve resource integration and strategic layout through mergers and acquisitions, enhancing their core competitiveness. Mergers and acquisitions in the technology industry also contribute to promoting industrial upgrading and innovation, enhancing the competitiveness of the entire industry. Moreover, mergers and acquisitions often lead to a repricing of enterprise valuations in the market, attracting attention from some undervalued technology companies. This not only helps companies obtain more financial support, but also enhances the overall confidence of the market in the technology industry Tian Lihui said. Secondly, there has been an increase in large-scale mergers and acquisitions by central state-owned enterprises. According to Wind data statistics, the average transaction value of major asset restructuring of central state-owned enterprises in 2024 is 13.71 billion yuan, which is about six times that of 2023 and a significant year-on-year increase. Zhang Xiaochun stated that currently, the global economy has entered the era of stock economy. China's promotion of the integration of central and state-owned enterprises will help improve the overall competitiveness of the industry and better participate in international competition. Finally, the pace of local state-owned assets taking over listed companies has accelerated. According to Wind data, in 2024, the actual controllers of 29 listed companies will change from individuals or those without actual controllers to local state-owned assets. Zhang Xiaochun stated that some private enterprises, under the background of high operational pressure, transfer control to state-owned assets or local government platforms, which can obtain more resources and a better development environment, and help improve the competitiveness of the company. For local governments, they can fully utilize the platform of listed companies, integrate assets, inject high-quality assets, and improve the quality of listed companies. With the deepening of state-owned enterprise reform, local state-owned assets need to seek more investment opportunities and growth points, and listed companies, as high-quality assets, naturally become important investment targets for local state-owned assets. At the same time, local governments holding important local enterprises through state-owned assets can help promote the transformation and upgrading of local industries, drive employment and economic growth Tian Lihui said. Regarding the trend of mergers and acquisitions in 2025, Luo Zhiheng, Chief Economist of Yuekai Securities, believes that from a policy perspective, regulatory authorities will issue more operational guidelines in 2025, such as implementing a phased payment mechanism for the consideration of restructured shares and relaxing supervision on the use of raised funds, to safeguard mergers and acquisitions. Zhang Xiaochun stated that a new wave of mergers and acquisitions may have begun. In the coming period, mergers and acquisitions will usher in a bigger stage and move towards a higher quality development stage. (New Society)