China To Set Up Stock Exchange In Beijing

President Xi Jinping on Thursday said the country will set up a stock exchange in Beijing, to serve small and medium-sized companies.

Currently, the mainland's two major stock exchanges are in Shanghai and Shenzhen.

But speaking in a video address at the opening of the China International Fair for Trade in Services, President Xi said a bourse will also be set up in the capital bolster the development of small and mid-sized firms.

"We will continue to support the innovation-driven development of small and medium-sized enterprises by deepening the reform of the New Third Board and setting up the Beijing Stock Exchange as the primary platform serving innovation-oriented SMEs," he said

The "new third board," officially known as the National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ), was launched in Beijing in 2013.

It was intended to offer SMEs a financing channel with low costs and simple listing procedures.