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

BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- China's National Equities Exchange and Quotations, also known as the "new third board," saw the debut of nine new small and medium-sized enterprises during the past week.

With the newcomers, the total number of companies on the board stood at 10,368, according to the exchange.

From March 18 to 22, turnover on the board stood at 2.45 billion yuan (about 366 million U.S. dollars), up 21.55 percent from the previous week.

The exchange 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.