November 17, 2018. Shanghai – The 2018 Corporate Social Responsibility Index for Chinese Listed Companies was released today during the CEIBS Global Impact Investing Forum held at the school’s Shanghai Campus. The list was topped by ZTE, with TCL, Chinese State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd (CSCEC), Shanghai International Port (Group) Co. Ltd and China Unicom rounding out the Top 5. The others from six to ten are Grandblue Environment, SAIC Motor, BOE Technology Group, Weichai Power Co. Ltd and Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical.

The index was released by Director of the CEIBS Center for Wealth Management, Professor of Finance & Accounting Oliver Rui. It is a collaborative effort between his centre and Shanghai University of Finance and Economics’ Centre for Accounting and Financial Big Data Research. It is based on data from CSR reports for 2017 that were published by A share companies between January and June in 2018.

The index release echoed the forum’s overarching theme of China’s role in impact investing and sustainable finance at home and abroad.

Some highlights from this year’s data:

• The number of companies disclosing CSR annual reports increased by 64 from last year’s 792. But that only accounts for about one fourth of the A share companies in China, and the overall number of those disclosing reports is still low.
• A total of 1,016 A share companies made their CSR efforts public during 2017 and 2018. Almost half of them made their efforts public more than 8 times, while a few others did so only once. There is a pronounced gap in companies’ awareness of the importance of going public with CSR reports.
• While the manufacturing industry produces the largest number of CSR reports, the financial industry has the highest level of disclosure.
• The majority of companies going public with their CSR reports in 2017 were state-owned enterprises, accounting for 57.71% of the total reports publicized. But in recent years, there has been an increase in the number of private-owned companies and joint ventures that have made their reports public.
• Most companies disclosing their annual CSR reports are located in the central eastern area of China with Beijing, Guangdong, and Shanghai ahead of other provinces.
• In 2017, the average CSR score was 43.71 (out of 100), which translates into an increase of 5.27% from last year. The overall level of disclosure needs improvement. The architecture industry scores the highest at 53.99, while culture, sports, and entertainment score relatively lower at 31.83.

The Index reflects the overall investing trends of, and challenges for, leading Chinese companies as they expand their scope of investment globally. Compared with the same primary indicators from the previous year, this year’s index gauges the comparative position of Chinese corporates in terms of impact investing from the perspective of social responsibility management, company operation and management, product quality and innovation, responsibility to employees, diversification and equal opportunities, environmental responsibility, as well as social contribution and charity.