124 SMEs debut on China's New Third Board

BEIJING - A total of 124 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were added to China's New Third Board from Dec 19 to 23, bringing the number of listed companies on the board to 10,105 as of Friday.

Turnover on the board reached 6.77 billion yuan ($974 million) in the past week, according to RoyalFlush Information, a financial information service provider.

The New Third Board, or National Equities Exchange and Quotation (NEEQ) system, is a national system for SMEs to transfer shares and raise funds.

It began life in 2006 as an experimental platform for non-listed small high-tech enterprises in Beijing's Zhongguancun Science Park. The present system was officially established on Jan 16, 2013 after trials in cities including Shanghai, Tianjin and Wuhan.

It complements the existing stock exchanges, the SME board and the ChiNext board. The board is seen as an easy financing channel with low costs and simple listing procedures.