China’s National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ), also known as the “new third board,” said it had a turnover of 40.2 billion yuan (US$5.6 billion) so far this year.
In the first half of last year, the exchange recorded a turnover of 38.5 billion yuan, down 24% from the same period of 2018. As of May 29 this year, 8,591 companies had been listed on the NEEQ.
Launched in 2013, the new third board is the third national equity trading bourse after the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. It is designed for innovative and high-growth micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises including startups.
China has outlined a series of reforms to better orient the NEEQ with the needs and features of small enterprises and support quality growth of the real economy.
Manufacturing and service sector
China’s factory and service sector activities expanded in May amid government policies to coordinate growth and control the Covid-19 epidemic, official data showed Sunday.
The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for China’s manufacturing sector eased to 50.6 in May from 50.8 in April, while the PMI for China’s non-manufacturing sector came in at 53.6 in May, up from 53.2 in April, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Sunday.
The NBS said both PMI figures continued to stand above the boom-bust line of 50 in May, indicating a steady recovery in major industries.
Although the manufacturing PMI in May eased slightly from April, it still indicated an upward trend in economic growth as counter-cyclical adjustment policies gradually took effect, said Wen Bin, chief analyst at China Minsheng Bank.
China has been walking a fine line in balancing epidemic control and economic recovery, with targeted measures introduced to help firms safely restart their businesses, Wen said.
Domestic demand bounced back, with the indices measuring new orders in 12 of the 21 surveyed manufacturing industries picking up, said NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe.
Bond issuance
China has issued a total of 19,286 bonds so far this year, helping firms and governments raise 20.1 trillion yuan, the latest figures from financial information provider Wind showed. In May, funds raised via bonds reached 3.25 trillion yuan.
China has accelerated local government bond issuance this year to help with the timely implementation of projects to mitigate the impact of the novel coronavirus epidemic.
Firms were also encouraged to use bond financing as an important way to raise funds. Earlier, central bank data showed that firms’ net financing via bonds totaled 901.5 billion yuan in April, 506.6 billion yuan more than a year earlier.
According to a report by CSCI Pengyuan Credit Rating, the number of corporate bonds issued in April rose 20% from March, while the amount raised increased by 14%.
Company news
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), a Hong Kong-listed chip foundry firm, said its shareholders Datang Telecom Technology Industry Holding Co Ltd and International Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund Co Ltd had indicated they would give up the pre-emptive right to issue yuan shares.
It was reported that the affiliated companies of Datang Telecom and the National Integrated Circuit Fund were considering participating in the proposal of yuan share issuance as strategic investors.
SMIC’s investment in its three major projects will cost about 20 billion yuan, of which about 8 billion yuan will be invested in the ongoing 12-inch chip SN1 project in SMIC South.
China Merchants Shekou Industrial Zone Holdings, a Shenzhen-listed company, said it plans to issue shares and convertible bonds and pay cash to acquire 24% of the stake in Shenzhen Nanyou Holdings, and to raise supplementary funds from Ping An Capital Management’s non-public offering of shares.
Trading of the company’s shares will be suspended from June 1. After the transaction is completed, Nanyou Holdings will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. Nanyou indirectly holds the equity of Qianhai Free Trade Zone, which has high-quality land resources.
The story was written by Xu Jiangshan and Nadeem Xu and first published at ATimesCN.com.