The Star Market Composite Index, which tracks the share performance of companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Nasdaq-style STAR Market, has risen 48.3% since its launch on Jan. 20, underscoring growing long-term investor support for China’s technology-focused companies.

The gains have been driven by a combination of policy backing, improving industrial fundamentals and increased inflows of capital, reflecting the broader development of China’s science and technology innovation sector over the past year, Tian Xuan, director of Tsinghua University’s National Institute of Financial Research, said.

Tian added that reforms aimed at improving corporate governance, boosting market transparency and encouraging long-term institutional investment have also helped strengthen investor confidence in the sector.

The STAR Market, often dubbed China’s version of Nasdaq, was created to support innovative firms in areas such as semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, biomedicine and new materials, and has become a key platform for Beijing’s push to build self-reliance in strategic technologies.