Under the guidance of regulatory policies, in the year 2024, the scale of mid-term dividend distribution of A-share listed companies has significantly broken historical records, with the number of companies planning to implement mid-term dividends exceeding the total of the previous three years.

At the same time, a batch of listed companies have disclosed their cash dividend return plans for the next three years in their semi-annual reports, using institutional arrangements to ensure the continuity and stability of the policy of multiple profit distributions per year. Institutions have indicated that the improvement of dividend stability and the increase in the overall dividend yield may play a role in supporting the valuation level of A-shares.

According to Wind statistics, as of 8:00 PM on August 30, more than 650 A-share listed companies have disclosed their mid-term dividend plans. A preliminary estimate shows that the total amount of dividends planned by these companies exceeds 500 billion yuan, and the number of companies planning mid-term dividends has surpassed the total of the previous three years. In comparison, the number of A-share companies distributing mid-term dividends from 2021 to 2023 were 186, 138, and 194 respectively, with the total amount of mid-term dividends distributed by listed companies in 2023 being about 200 billion yuan.

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In terms of absolute dividend amounts, stocks with "China" in their names continue to be the main force in implementing dividends, with energy, finance, and telecommunications industries accounting for a larger proportion of dividend amounts. Among them, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Mobile, and China Construction Bank plan to distribute dividends of about 50 billion yuan each, ranking in the top three. In addition, the cash dividend scales planned by Agricultural Bank of China, PetroChina, Bank of China, and China National Offshore Oil Corporation are also above 30 billion yuan.

Many traditional high-dividend companies, while setting new highs for mid-term dividend distribution this year, are also considering further increasing their dividend payout levels. China National Offshore Oil Corporation's mid-term dividend this year has set a historical high for the same period, and the company's previously released dividend guidance will expire in 2024. The company's CEO, Zhou Xinxin, said, "The company is actively studying future dividend policies, balancing short-term, medium-term, and long-term shareholder returns, and will disclose to the market in a timely manner. The company will benchmark the dividend levels of international peers and maintain a leading dividend level among its peers."

The significant increase in the number of listed companies planning mid-term dividends means that many companies have initiated mid-term dividends for the first time, with the most noticeable increase in enthusiasm for mid-term dividends among STAR Market stocks and securities stocks. So far, 24 securities stocks and 76 STAR Market stocks have proposed mid-term dividends. "Securities leader" CITIC Securities has proposed mid-term dividends for the first time since its A-share listing in 2003, with a total cash dividend payout of 3.557 billion yuan (including tax), accounting for 35% of the net profit for the period.

STAR Market stock, Saint湘 Biotech, also proposed a mid-term dividend plan for the first time this year. The company's actual controller and chairman, Dai Lizhong, told reporters that the company has distributed more than 1.9 billion yuan in dividends over four years since its listing, and now it is increasing mid-term dividends to further enhance investors' sense of gain. "In the future, the company will continue to strive to achieve a dynamic balance between business development, performance improvement, and shareholder returns, closely follow the regulatory policies on dividends, and assess the possibility of multiple dividends," said Dai Lizhong.

The significant increase in mid-term dividends this year may not be a flash in the pan, as many listed companies have recently released cash dividend return plans for the next few years. They aim to maximize shareholder interests as the company's value goal and make clear institutional arrangements for the company's profit distribution to ensure the continuity and stability of the profit distribution policy.

Moutai, in conjunction with the release of its semi-annual report, published the "Cash Dividend Return Plan for 2024-2026," which greatly exceeded market expectations. The plan clearly states that the total amount of cash dividends distributed by Moutai each year will not be less than 75% of the net profit attributable to the mother company for that year, and the annual cash dividends will be implemented in two installments, annual and mid-term. According to research reports released by Great Wall Securities strategist Wang Yi and others, a total of 530 mainboard companies have disclosed their shareholder return plans for the next three years, and this announcement is showing an accelerating growth trend.

The comprehensive improvement of mid-term dividend amounts, coverage, and stable expectations is closely related to the enterprises' increased awareness of dividends on the one hand, and on the other hand, it is inseparable from the continuous guidance of regulatory authorities.In March of this year, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) issued the "Opinions on Strengthening the Supervision of Listed Companies (Trial)," which mentioned the need to strengthen the supervision of cash dividends to enhance investor returns and encourage the promotion of multiple dividends per year. In April, the State Council's new "Nine Measures" clearly stated the need to enhance the stability, continuity, and predictability of dividends, and to promote multiple dividends per year, pre-dividend distributions, and dividends before the Spring Festival.

At the same time, for unreasonable and non-compliant dividends, the regulatory authorities have also acted in a timely manner to correct them. The Shanghai Stock Exchange had previously required a listed company to supplement its explanation, in light of its profit levels and capital usage in recent years, as to why it has not paid dividends or has paid minimal cash dividends for several consecutive years despite having a high balance of monetary funds and being profitable for many years, and whether there is a situation of large amounts of idle funds.

Wang Yi stated that with the improvement of dividend stability, dividend yield, and dividend ratio, the attractiveness of A-share assets to long-term capital will gradually improve. Subsequently, as the number of companies releasing "Three-Year Shareholder Return Plans" continues to increase, the enhancement of dividend stability and the overall increase in dividend yield in A-shares may play a role in supporting the valuation levels of A-shares.