BEIJING - China's National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ), also known as the "new third board," saw the debut of 12 new small and medium-sized enterprises last week.

With the newcomers, the total number of companies on the board reached 11,283, according to the NEEQ.

From June 11 to 15, turnover on the board stood at 1.53 billion yuan (nearly $240 million), down 12.21 percent from the previous week.

The NEEQ was launched in early 2013 to supplement the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges to serve small and medium-sized enterprises.

It is seen as an easy financing channel for small businesses, with low costs and simple listing procedures. Last year, total turnover on the board stood at 227 billion yuan, up 18.7 percent from 2016.