BEIJING, July 28 (Xinhua) -- A total of 17 out of 32 firms on the best-performing tier of China's National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ), or the "new third board," belong to the high-tech industry, according to the exchange.
Last October, China's securities regulator created a new tier for best-performing companies at the NEEQ and allowed them to be listed on stock exchanges.
Shares of the 32 companies that have completed the initial public offerings process started trading Monday as the first batch of firms listed on the best-performing tier of the NEEQ.
Spanning 19 industries, most firms belong to the sectors of software and information, pharmaceuticals, computer equipment, pollution control and pesticide development.
Launched in 2013, the NEEQ intends to offer SMEs a financing channel with low costs and simple listing procedures.
By Friday, the NEEQ had 8,518 listed companies, including 1,188 on the innovation tier and 7,330 on the base tier. Enditem
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