A report on the intangible assets evaluation index of listed companies in 2017 was jointly released by Tianjin University of Finance and Economics(TUFE), the Tianjin Intangible Assets Research Board and the Tianjin Modern Intangible Assets Research Institute on Nov 4, 2017.

The report evaluates listed companies' performances on intangible assets mainly in terms of innovation, market competitiveness and sustainable development ability.

Listed companies in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area and industries like environmental protection, artificial intelligence and culture media are a special focus in the report.

Chinese listed companies recorded 64.93 points for their performance of intangible assets in 2016, 1.25 percent higher than that in 2015.

Companies had higher scores in innovation ability and market competitiveness than the previous year, but regressed in sustainable development. This shows that listed companies in China still lack long-term competitiveness.

Innovation ability was a large part of the evaluation. Therefore, it is the key for companies to improve their performance in intangible assets.

Companies in different industries have different scores. Most companies register 60 to 65, a negative signal of the transformation of those companies.

Technology incentive industries that are emerging show a good momentum. Information transmission and the technology service industry, the science research sector and technology service rank as the top three among all industries.

The report also shows a huge gap between advanced areas and those lagging behind. Beijing, Guangdong and Shanghai, the top three areas, score more than 70 points.

Private companies and foreign-owned companies do better than State-owned companies. Companies listed on the growth enterprises market score the highest points, followed by those in the small and medium enterprises board and the main board.

Yuan Zeming, director of the Credit Management School of Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, points out that intangible assets index can evaluate a company's innovation ability, competitiveness and sustainable development ability.

It quantifies assets of a company like knowledge, technology, talents and management, to allow evaluation of its performance in those areas.