Governance, adaptation, flexibility and variety: four key topics from the IR Magazine Forum – Greater China 2024

Even in adverse market conditions, good IR can always make the difference for listed companies. This was the focus for the nearly 200 IR professionals from across the Greater China region – Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China – who came together for the IR Magazine Forum – Greater China 2024.

Here, IROs and capital markets experts laid out the case for how efficient, transparent and responsive IR can help companies weather the shifting tides of the market.

Though there were far too many pearls of IR wisdom from the day’s discussions to be able to summarize easily, below we have run through four of the key themes from this year’s Hong Kong event.

New governance rules in focus

The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong’s (HKEX) proposed update to rules around transparency and corporate governance for listed companies, most notably around the disclosure of dividend policies and board-director skills, aims to bring it in line with the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchange rules. But for our first batch of speakers there was some disagreement over whether the changed rules would have the intended purpose.

Rene Vanguestaine, managing partner at Christensen Advisory, said that he felt the regulators were ‘behind the ball’ and that the protections offered were not adequate for shareholders. Jason Paltrowitz, director and executive vice president at OTC Markets Group, had a similar approach, saying that the changes would not materially shift how US investors viewed Hong Kong-listed firms as an investment opportunity.

For IROs, the focus needs to be on the long term, said Clara Liu, senior manager of IR at Xtep International Holdings. ‘It’s important to really think of how you can maximize your board effectiveness and strengthen your internal controls, instead of just merely fulfilling the minimum requirements of HKEX,’ she explained.

Adapting to drive value

There was a consistent focus throughout the event on maximizing the impact and efficiency of IR programs, particularly by leveraging new technologies, with AI unsurprisingly on the agenda.

For Jessie Jin, chief manager of investor relations and ESG at tech recycling company ATRenew, it has been crucial to manage her own time effectively, whether that is through prioritizing which emails or WeChat messages to respond to urgently, or by communicating with operational heads to be able to pass on key messages about what is happening throughout the business. ‘I prefer to divide those tasks or issues from my IR work into categories depending on their urgency and quality, or distraction and waste,’ she added.

Melanie Morfill, sales director, APAC at Notified, highlighted some of the quick ways that AI-enabled tech platforms can help IROs save time, including generating live translations and captions for earnings calls and – in the near future – an AI assistant for IROs that could help teams analyze investor Q&As or pull together themes from transcripts at the click of a button.

Balancing quality and quantity

Targeting was firmly in focus in a later session as three award-nominated IROs from small-cap companies outlined how they handle the entire process of identifying and securing new investors for their companies, particularly during a time of negative sentiment surrounding the Greater China market.

For Fanny Yan, senior manager of IR at Nissin Foods Company, it is a matter of continuing to deliver a consistent message to investors about your future plans in preparation for a time when the market looks more bullish, as well as reaching out to a wider range of investors. ‘It’s about balancing quality of your shareholders with quantity,’ she added.

Elaine Wang, senior IR manager at QingCi Games, said that for small caps in particular, it’s important to hone in on your company’s strengths. For her company, this requires a focus on operations, development, ESG progress and global expansion. ‘Find your strengths and you can attract those investors who share the same goals or value the same things as you,’ she explained. 

Different approaches for different folks

The day’s final session took on the small task of maximizing the opportunities IR teams have with investors. Each panellist agreed that a heavy focus on data would serve IROs well as we head into 2025, with Rui Zhang, CEO of Irostors, emphasizing that a well-informed team can ensure that they are maintaining transparency, consistency and differentiation between their differing stakeholder audiences best. All of that, he adds, builds the trust that investors have in you.

For Ellen Tseng, senior director, IR and corporate communications at Taiwanese tech firm Primax Electronics, it starts with understanding the shareholder base. Realizing that the company had a lot of value-based investors, such as pension funds and others in search of a high-dividend yield, it not only helped shape her communications strategy but meant she could feed back intelligence to her C-suite that lead to the company paying a higher dividend.

Yi Xiang, head of investor relations at Focus Media, said that an earlier US listing on Nasdaq for her company showed her the value of differentiating communications for different audiences. For one large US investor, she holds multiple meetings covering different topics, such as environmental or social factors, throughout the year. ‘We tend to adopt a more detail-oriented and data-driven approach, which lets us intensify our presentations to them,’ she explained.