Beijing stock exchange to focus on earlier-stage SMEs

The Beijing stock exchange will be tailor-made for innovative small and medium-sized enterprises at an earlier development stage than those listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen, the country's top securities regulator said on Friday.

Differentiated rules and arrangements will be made accordingly to make sure the three stock exchanges complement each other with different focuses, said Zhou Guihua, an official with the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

Listed companies on the Beijing stock exchange who have matured will be allowed to transfer their listing venue to Shenzhen or Shanghai for further development, Zhou said at a news conference on Friday.

To match SMEs' features of volatile financial performance and high operating risks, qualified investors will be introduced in the new Beijing exchange. Compared with those in Shanghai and Shenzhen, they are expected to have lower trading frequency, longer holding periods and greater focus on mid- to long-term returns, the commission said.

Listing requirements of the Beijing stock exchange will remain the same as the NEEQ Select, the highest tier of the National Equities Exchange and Quotations system. All companies now traded on the NEEQ Select will go public on the new exchange, according to the CSRC.

Additional companies to be listed on the new exchange will come from those who have been traded on NEEQ Innovation, the NEEQ's second-highest tier, for 12 months and meet related listing requirements.

There will be no caps of share price movement on the first trading day for new shares listed on the Beijing exchange. From their second trading day, the price movement limit will be 30 percent, either up or down, compared with the 20-percent limit for new shares listed on Shenzhen's ChiNext and Shanghai's STAR Market, which is effective from their sixth trading session.