11 firms debut on China's "new third board"

BEIJING, March 17 (Xinhua) -- China's National Equities Exchange and Quotations, also known as the "new third board," saw the debut of 11 new small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) last week.

The number of companies on the board now totals 10,389.

From March 11 to 15, turnover at the board stood at 2.01 billion yuan (about 299.4 million U.S. dollars), up 16.87 percent from the previous trading week.

The system was launched in early 2013 to supplement the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges to serve small and medium-sized enterprises.

It is seen as an easier financing channel for small businesses, with low costs and simple listing procedures. In 2018, the exchange helped China's SMEs raise 60 billion yuan.