Beijing's specialized board for innovative small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has grown to include more than 500 companies, establishing itself as a hub for China's technology sector.
Launched in August 2023 with 50 initial firms, the board operates under the Beijing Equity Trading Center. It marks part of the capital city's efforts to leverage the regional equity market to further facilitate listing channels for innovative SMEs.
Under the guidance of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, the board has achieved a rapid start, with listed companies reaching 502 by Nov. 25, surpassing annual targets.
Innovative SMEs that use specialized, sophisticated technologies to produce novel or unique products comprise 60% of the board with 302 firms. The board also includes 91 national-level "little giants" and 89 innovative SMEs. Among them, more than 165 listed companies have secured financing totaling over 15 billion yuan ($2 billion).
To support and guide more innovative SMEs to achieve equity financing and accelerate the high-quality development of enterprises, the board offers one-time rewards of up to 300,000 yuan to listed companies that secure private equity funding. This first-of-its-kind incentive program in China has distributed nearly 10 million yuan to 165 companies.
Beijing launched a fast-track mechanism in October 2023 for companies on the specialized trading board to list on the National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ), also known as China's "new third board." Two months later, Beijing Zhongke Xianluo Intelligent Computing Technology Co., a data center consulting company, received NEEQ listing approval in just 25 trading days, half the usual processing time.
A similar expedited review process, implemented in May, allows national-level "little giants" and manufacturing champions to accelerate their public listing applications.