SMEs raise over 26b yuan in China's New Third Board this year

BEIJING - Some 633 small and medium-sized enterprises have issued shares on China's National Equities Exchange and Quotation (NEEQ), also known as the "new third board," and raised 26.22 billion yuan ($4.12 billion) so far this year.

The NEEQ is a share transfer system designed for small and medium-sized companies to increase financing. It now has 11,367 listed firms.

Market turnover on the NEEQ has reached 29.46 billion yuan since Jan 15 this year when a new trading system and other new policies were introduced, according to NEEQ data.

From May 2 to 4, trading volume on the board was 1.26 billion yuan.

NEEQ was launched in early 2013 to supplement the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges. It is seen as an easy financing channel for small businesses with low costs and simple listing procedures.

Last year, total turnover on the board stood at 227 billion yuan, up 18.7 percent from 2016.

A total of 10,764 NEEQ-listed firms have disclosed their 2017 financial performances, making 1.98 trillion yuan in combined revenue, up 21.21 percent. Their total net profits reached 115.48 billion yuan, up 14.69 percent.