BEIJING- China's National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ), also known as the "new third board," saw the debut of 8 new small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) this week.

Including the newcomers, the total number of companies on the board now stands at 10,854, according to the exchange, while weekly turnover stands at 1.05 billion yuan ($151 million).

The NEEQ was launched in early 2013 to supplement the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, and is seen as a more beneficial financing channel for small businesses, with low costs and simple listing procedures.

China has worked to build a multi-level capital market that satisfies growing funding demand from all kinds of companies, no matter how big or small, with measures taken to reform the stock market and encourage direct financing.