Since 2024, over 400 listed companies have formulated and published public opinion management systems, with about 350 companies releasing them after August. The importance that listed companies place on public opinion management is not only reflected in the quantity but also in the quality and level, which has been elevated to an unprecedented height. Many companies have upgraded public opinion management to a "top leader" project directly managed by the chairman and general manager, and have established special teams or leading groups for this purpose. On the basis of adhering to common principles such as prudence, timeliness, initiative, and sincerity, listed companies have also made regulations on public opinion response principles, reporting processes, and rules for graded disposal, while setting clear clauses for accountability.

In the era of mobile internet, public opinion anxiety is widespread across all industries. For listed companies with a broad impact and transparent information, public opinion management is particularly necessary. According to statistics from Shanghai Securities News reporters, since 2024, more than 400 listed companies have formulated and published public opinion management systems, with less than 20 companies releasing them in the first half of the year, and about 350 companies releasing them after August.

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Formulating rules and regulations is just one aspect. Reporters have noticed that the importance of public opinion management for listed companies is not only reflected in the quantity but also in the quality and level, which has been elevated to an unprecedented height. Many companies have upgraded public opinion management to a "top leader" project directly managed by the chairman and general manager, and have established special teams or leading groups for this purpose. On the basis of adhering to common principles such as prudence, timeliness, initiative, and sincerity, listed companies have also made regulations on public opinion response principles, reporting processes, and rules for graded disposal, while setting clear clauses for accountability.

System construction to fill gaps

Public opinion management upgraded to a "top leader" project

With the advent of the network era, the internet has become the main channel for public opinion expression and social information dissemination. Industry insiders say that the rapid spread and strong destructiveness of online public opinion have brought huge impacts to enterprises, governments, and even society. How to effectively control online public opinion from the perspective of enterprises has become a new topic worth studying, especially for listed companies with a broad impact and transparent information. Reporters have found that this year, more than 400 listed companies have formulated and published public opinion management systems, with the release speed showing a monthly upward trend. This is a surge compared to the previous annual average of single-digit public opinion management system releases.

On October 16, Chongda Technology released a public opinion management system, announcing the establishment of a public opinion handling work leading group, with the company's chairman as the leader and the board secretary as the deputy leader. The members are composed of other senior management personnel and heads of relevant functional departments of the company. Reporters have noticed that among the companies that have recently released public opinion management systems, there are not a few companies that have upgraded public opinion management to a "top leader" project directly managed by the chairman and general manager, and have established a special team or leading group responsibility system.

In addition to Chongda Technology, companies such as Aowei Communication, An'er, Yingjixin, Hongxing Development, Jiu'an Medical, and Guifaxiang have their chairman as the leader of the public opinion handling work leading group. Companies like Jiangnan Yifan, Higuang Information, Rongda Photoelectric, and Zhongke Dawn have their general manager as the corresponding leader.

From the perspective of the departments involved, public opinion management not only involves departments such as the securities department and the board office, but also involves various departments such as the company's legal affairs, finance, quality control, and administrative management in the information collection process, fully reflecting the importance of public opinion management for each business segment of the listed companies. Companies like Rongda Photoelectric have also made it clear that the public opinion management system is not only applicable to the company but also to each subsidiary within the scope of consolidated financial statements.

The difficulty of public opinion disposal is greatFull-Chain Public Opinion Management is Imperative

In recent years, the frequency of public opinion risks faced by listed companies has increased significantly. Channels such as stock forums, self-media, and social groups have become "ignition points" for引爆 public opinion risks, often leaving companies in a passive position. Negative exposures can be magnified in a short period, directly affecting the stock prices of companies in the public market. Consequently, public opinion verification has also become a key focus for regulatory authorities.

In February 2023, the Shanghai Stock Exchange formulated the "Shanghai Stock Exchange Issuance and Listing Review Business Guide No. 2 — Issuance and Listing Application Documents," which requires sponsors to conduct a thorough verification of the issuer's historical public opinion and submit a special verification report. The "Shanghai Stock Exchange Science and Technology Innovation Board Stock Listing Rules" requires listed companies and related information disclosure obligors to closely monitor major reports about the company in public media and market rumors. Last September, the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange respectively issued regulatory guidelines for securities issuance and underwriting violations (for trial implementation), where "triggering long-term or a large amount of negative reports in mainstream media" can be identified as "serious violations."

Upon reviewing the public opinion management systems of various companies, it was found that listed companies focus on collecting public opinion sources from various types of information carriers such as online media, e-papers, WeChat, blogs, Weibo, interactive Q&A, forums, bulletin boards, and stock forums. In addition, He Mei Group further included the official websites of the company and its holding subsidiaries, as well as the company's and holding subsidiaries' WeChat public accounts and TikTok official accounts in the scope of public opinion information collection.

However, even with these measures, many companies report that they still face significant difficulties in monitoring and managing public opinion.

"Many listed companies lack professional channels and news sensitivity for monitoring market rumors and 'small essays' in social groups. Some staff members are also not cautious enough in their public speaking and wording, so the judgment and handling of public opinion are inevitably delayed," admitted a senior executive of a listed company. Once public opinion ferments and affects stock prices and the market, the company lacks a complete response system and process, and cannot clarify in the first place, often missing the best time window for "speaking out," which allows negative public opinion to have a greater chain effect. Industry leaders such as Nongfu Spring, NIO, Wahaha, and HeyTea have all encountered issues with public opinion handling.

Therefore, while formulating public opinion management systems, listed companies, based on the common principles of prudence, timeliness, initiative, and sincerity, also have clear regulations on public opinion response principles, reporting processes, and rules for graded disposal, and have set up clauses for accountability; especially for public opinion disposal measures, they have been streamlined to ensure clear division of labor and rules to follow.

For example, Xiamen Airport has made clear provisions for the reporting process of public opinion information, and different disposal requirements for general and major public opinion. General public opinion is flexibly handled by the board secretary and the securities department according to the specific situation of the public opinion. In the event of major public opinion, the head of the public opinion working group should convene a meeting of the public opinion working group as appropriate to make decisions and deployments in response to major public opinion. The securities department simultaneously carries out real-time monitoring, closely watching changes in public opinion, and the public opinion working group takes various measures to control the spread according to the situation.

Investors' awareness of public opinion attention is increasing.

Strengthening investor communication is a daily effort.Journalists have observed that in addition to the increasing enthusiasm for establishing public opinion management systems among listed companies, investors' attention to the company's public opinion management attitude is also continuously strengthening. Relevant topics are warmly asked on interactive platforms, in the hope of further understanding the company's public opinion management measures.

For example, when answering investors' questions, Muyuan Foodstuff Co., Ltd. clearly stated that the company has established a dedicated public opinion monitoring team for continuous and comprehensive monitoring. Next, the company will continue to do a good job in public opinion monitoring and disposal, take various measures against false public opinion information, and effectively safeguard the legal rights and interests of the company and shareholders.

"Strengthening communication with investors, and doing a good job in investor consultation, visits, and investigation work" is also clearly written into the public opinion management system of listed companies, including: giving full play to the role of investor hotlines and interactive platforms, ensuring the smoothness of various communication channels, speaking in a timely manner, conveying the message of "the company takes the event very seriously, the event is under investigation, and the investigation results will be announced in a timely manner" to investors; doing a good job in guiding and resolving work, allowing the market to fully understand the situation, reducing misreading and misjudgment, and preventing the expansion of online hot spots.

In this regard, some market insiders have also expressed their concerns. He believes that the current "strengthening investor communication" is all gathered under the clause of "major public opinion disposal", which is worth discussing. Public opinion management is by no means a "supplement after something happens", the effort is in the ordinary, and strengthening investor communication is even more so. He suggests that companies further refine the public opinion management system, combine the characteristics and current situation of the industry in which the company is located, and start from the aspects of organizational structure, information disclosure responsibilities, and public opinion monitoring processes to further strengthen the company's public opinion education and response awareness.