THE SME board, a sub-board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange for the listing of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), has seen fast growth since its launch a decade ago.

    A total of 719 companies are now listed on the SME board, with a market value of 3.81 trillion yuan (US$618.5 billion), figures from the bourse showed Sunday.

    The number of listed companies was 19 times that in 2004, and the market value was more than 90 times that of 10 years ago.

    The board’s market capitalization now accounts for more than 40 percent of the total market value of all the listed companies on the Shenzhen bourse.

    The SME board was inaugurated May 27, 2004 to let China’s smaller companies take advantage of the domestic stock market and get much-needed capital.

    The main boards of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, as in other countries, have been primarily focused on large companies.

    Over the past decade, firms have raised more than 700 billion yuan from the SME board.

    With an emphasis on private and high-tech firms, the SME board has become a unique and indispensable segment in China’s multi-tier capital market system, according to the Shenzhen bourse. (Xinhua)