'Market Cap Delisting' Surpasses 'Par Value Delisting' for the First Time, Marking a Qualitative Shift in A-Share Delisting Landscape

Market Cap Delisting Becomes the Main Force Behind A-Share Clearing

On April 27, *ST Jinglun was officially terminated from listing and delisted, becoming yet another company to exit the A-share market in 2026 after triggering the market capitalization delisting threshold. Notably, no par value delisting cases have occurred on A-shares so far this year, while market cap delisting has quietly risen from a marginal mechanism to the primary type of trading-related delisting. This structural shift — one falling as the other rises — is profoundly reshaping the A-share delisting ecosystem.

Multiple Companies Hit the Market Cap Red Line

According to statistics compiled by reporters, since the beginning of 2026, multiple companies including ST Aowei, ST Jinglun, and *ST Wanfang have entered termination proceedings after triggering the red line of "market capitalization below 500 million yuan for 20 consecutive trading days." These companies generally suffer from shrinking core businesses, loss of profitability, and chaotic corporate governance, having long existed as "zombie enterprises."

Unlike par value delisting — where a stock price remains below 1 yuan for 20 consecutive trading days — which had long dominated the landscape, market cap delisting evaluates listed companies from a higher dimension. Par value delisting focuses on price signals and can be circumvented by some companies through share consolidation or short-term positive catalysts. Market cap delisting, however, comprehensively reflects the market's overall judgment of a company's fundamentals, growth potential, and investment value, making it significantly harder to manipulate.

Regulatory Evolution: From Emphasizing 'Price' to Emphasizing 'Quality'

The growing power of the market cap delisting threshold is a result of the continuous deepening reform of A-share delisting regulations. Following the release of the new "National Nine Articles" in 2024, regulators explicitly called for intensifying delisting efforts and opening up diversified exit channels. The introduction and rigorous enforcement of market cap delisting standards are concrete manifestations of this policy direction.

Industry analysts point out that par value delisting is essentially a "price-based clearing" mechanism, while market cap delisting is a "value-based clearing" mechanism. As overall market pricing efficiency improves and investors become more empowered to vote with their feet, companies lacking substantive operational capabilities and surviving solely on "shell value" will be exposed at the market capitalization level first.

Data shows this trend is no coincidence. Over the past two years, as the registration-based IPO system has been fully implemented, the scarcity value of "shell resources" has declined sharply, and valuation premiums for small-cap companies have continued to shrink. A large number of fundamentally weak companies have seen their market capitalizations accelerate toward the 500-million-yuan red line, making a concentrated surge in market cap delisting cases only a matter of time.

A Diversified Delisting Framework Is Taking Shape

Beyond market cap delisting, other channels — including financial-based delisting, compliance-based delisting, and major violations-based delisting — are also playing their roles. A-shares are gradually moving away from the previous situation of "difficult and rare delistings" toward a diversified and normalized clearing framework.

For investors, this means the risks associated with speculating on small-cap and poor-quality stocks are rising sharply. The speculative logic of betting on "shell preservation" or "backdoor listings" for outsized returns is becoming increasingly untenable under the new delisting regulatory framework.

Outlook: Survival-of-the-Fittest Mechanism Will Continue to Strengthen

Looking ahead, as delisting standards are further refined and enforcement continues to intensify, the A-share market's survival-of-the-fittest function is expected to improve further. Market cap delisting surpassing par value delisting as the primary clearing method is not merely a technical indicator switch — at a deeper level, it reflects the capital market's transformation logic from "scale expansion" to "quality improvement."

Analysts believe the number of market cap delisting cases may continue to rise, with the 500-million-yuan market cap threshold becoming a sword of Damocles hanging over inferior companies. For listed companies, only solid operations and enhanced core competitiveness can ensure a firm foothold amid increasingly stringent market screening mechanisms. For the A-share market as a whole, a healthy ecosystem characterized by "orderly entries and exits, ups and downs" is rapidly taking shape.