With the cash dividend season upon us, many listed companies have begun to implement their cash dividend plans from last year. Recent data shows that 3859 listed companies have announced or executed their cash dividend schemes for 2020. The anticipated total cash dividends have reached an astonishing 2.24 trillion yuan. Among these companies, a considerable number have dividend amounts exceeding 100 million yuan, with the dividend ratio reaching more than 50%, and some companies implemented two dividends last year.

Cash dividends are one of the main ways for listed companies to reward investors. In terms of policy, since the revision of the dividend guidelines for listed companies and the introduction of the new "national article nine," there has been an emphasis on increasing the intensity of cash dividends. Policies aim to encourage listed companies to actively participate in dividend distribution, enhance dividend ratios, and increase the frequency of dividends, while strictly supervising companies that do not meet dividend standards with ST (Special Treatment). Dividend performance also affects shareholders' behavior in reducing their holdings, among others.

With these policy measures in place, listed companies have shown a marked increase in their enthusiasm for dividends. Overall, last year's total dividend payout hit a new high for the past three years, and the number of companies carrying out interim dividends has been increasing annually. According to the data from the Listed Companies Association, by early May, nearly 92% of profitable companies had published or implemented their cash dividend plans for 2020, with 30 companies' dividend amounts exceeding 10 billion yuan.

In terms of the frequency of dividends, last year, 254 companies announced quarterly or semi-annual dividend plans for 2020, a significant increase over the previous year. According to Wind's data, listed companies from 10 provinces announced dividend plans surpassing a hundred, and the amount and scale of dividends have risen in these regions last year.

For instance, in Jiangsu, 543 companies have disclosed their cash dividend plans for 2020, with a growth of 13.4% year-on-year, and 78% of these companies have planned dividends. The planned total amount of cash dividends reached 102.94 billion yuan, a 15.8% increase year-on-year, with more than 70% of the companies' cash dividend ratio exceeding 30%, and 393 companies achieved a year-on-year positive growth in their cash dividend ratio.

Currently, as the disclosure of dividend plans nears its end, listed companies are hastening to execute their dividend plans. As of May 26, there have been over 1100 listed companies in the A-share market that have executed their cash dividends for 2020, with a total of about 300 billion yuan. There are still more than 2600 companies to execute dividends, of which over 2000 have passed their shareholder meetings. Among these companies that have executed dividends, both Contemporary Amperex Technology and Midea Group's dividend amounts exceed 20 billion yuan, with more than 50 companies having a dividend amount of over 1 billion yuan.

Observing by regions, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shenzhen, and Guangdong each have over a hundred companies that have executed cash dividends. Specifically, Zhejiang with 177 companies, Jiangsu with 156, Shenzhen with 123, and Guangdong with 119, and the annual dividend total for these regions have also each exceeded 10 billion yuan.

Through new policies, the state is also actively proposing to increase incentives for high-dividend companies and to promote the increase of dividend yields through various means. Policies also aim to strengthen the stability, continuity, and predictability of dividends, encouraging listed companies to realize multiple dividends within a year, advance dividends, and distribute dividends before the Spring Festival, among other measures.

Recently, several listed companies have announced their mid-term dividend plans for 2024. The measure aims to simplify the mid-term dividend process. According to the announcement, the company's board of directors plans to request authorization from the shareholders' meeting, in order to, based on compliance with relevant operating indicators and profit distribution conditions, plan out the mid-term dividend scheme for the year 2024 according to specific circumstances.

In the Jiangsu region, nearly 50 companies have disclosed their dividend plans for 2023, while also making public their mid-term dividend arrangements for 2024. Data shows that last year, a total of 36 companies in the Jiangsu jurisdiction implemented mid-term or quarterly dividends, with a cumulative dividend amount reaching 5.12 billion yuan.

The reporter has learned that regulatory agencies in Jiangsu will continue to advocate for companies within the region to fully recognize the importance of increasing the proportion of dividends. Companies need to accurately understand the policy requirements and, in turn, increase the proportion of their cash dividends. Regulatory agencies will also strengthen the supervision and management of cash dividends, reminding listed companies to combine their own profitability and cash flow conditions to implement reasonable dividend strategies. By doing so, companies can formulate dividend policies that are sustainable and stable, ensuring that investors do not misinterpret irregular dividend actions.