China's top legislature will amend the country's corporate law in a new move to support the development of high-tech ventures and facilitate their listings on stock markets.

Yang Jingyu, director of the Legal Affairs Office of the State Council, presented today to the ongoing 13th session of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee an explanation on the draft amendment.

The current law stipulates that the establishment of joint stock companies and the issuance of new stocks and their listings depend on their capital mix, profits, and existing equity capital.

New and high-tech ventures are noted for their advantages in turning scientific and technological achievements into productive forces, and they are usually young, promising, and relatively small.

"Under the present law, start-up high-tech ventures find it extremely difficult to gain investment directly from the stocks market," Yang said.

This makes it all the more necessary to amend related articles in the corporate law for the nurturing of a capital market conducive to the development of China's high-tech industries, Yang noted.

Recent months have witnessed stepped-up efforts by the Chinese government to provide further support to new and high-tech companies.

China's central authorities in August called for technical renovation to create a capital market friendly to new and high- tech industries.

The central government has decided to give new incentives for high-tech companies to enter into domestic and world capital markets, and suggested that the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges offer special trading for high-tech companies.

According to the draft amendment, the State Council will decide on the ratio between the share of the company initiators who contribute their industrial property rights and the registered capital, and on criteria for new issues of stocks and their listings.

Yang listed several reasons for the amendment, one of them being that the present ratio of 20 percent is not sufficient to encourage more commercialization and industrialization of scientific results.

It is also necessary to lower the criteria for high-tech companies to issue new stocks and list them on the securities market, Yang said.

As the country still lacks experience in this respect, it will be better for the State Council rather than a law to decide on and readjust detailed policies on some specific issues, Yang added.