TRADING on the Beijing Stock Exchange kicked off yesterday, with shares of the 10 companies that recently conducted initial public offerings (IPOs) on the new bourse surging as much as six-fold and triggering circuit breakers.

A total of 81 stocks started trading to mark the official launch of the exchange, which has been set up to serve small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“It’s a pretty good performance for the first day. I don’t see a lot of froth,” said Yang Hongxun, an analyst at investment consultancy Shenguang.

Performance was mixed for the other 71 stocks, which were transferred to the new bourse from the “select tier” of Beijing’s over-the-counter New Third Board.

The launch of the Beijing exchange is a landmark in China’s capital market reforms, said Yi Huiman, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).

“It’s significant as it will enhance multi-layered capital market, improve financing system for SMEs and drive innovation and upgrade China’s economy,” Yi told a ceremony yesterday.

The Beijing exchange complements existing bourses in Shanghai and Shenzhen that host companies with bigger market capitalizations.

More than 4 million investors have opened accounts to trade on the Beijing Stock Exchange, which adopts a registration-based IPO mechanism, a system also embraced by Shenzhen’s ChiNext and Shanghai’s tech-focused STAR Market.

The first batch of companies listed on the Beijing bourse are mainly from sectors such as software, pharmaceutical and high-end manufacturing.

Buying was concentrated in the 10 stocks that were newly approved for listing. The listing for the other stocks were long expected, so had been largely priced in.

Henan Tongxin Transmission Co., which makes automobile transmission devises, was the biggest gainer, surging 493.67 percent. Nantong Great Electric Co. jumped 261.75 percent, while Hebei Raisesun Information Technology Co. gained 238.97 percent.

The spikes triggered circuit breakers, resulting in temporary halts in the trading of the 10 stocks.

The exchange imposes no limits on the maximum daily movement of these 10 stocks on their first day of trading, but moves will be capped at 30 percent in either direction afterwards. (SD-Agencies)