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SME 300 index debut on Shenzhen stock exchange

By Yu Hongyan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-03-22 17:02

The Shenzhen Stock Exchange and its subsidiary Shenzhen Securities Information Co, Ltd launched a new index Monday, to track the performance of 300 selected stocks in 22 industries traded on the bourse's small and medium enterprise (SME) board.

The SME 300 index, with March 19, 2010 as the basis day, initiates at 1,000 points. It will post the price index and return index simultaneously.

As of March 19, 2010, 373 companies were listed on the SME board. Their total market value tops 1.8 trillion yuan in total, accounting for 32 percent of the bourse's A-share market. Negotiable stocks of the companies were worth more than 820 billion yuan, taking up 25 percent of the value of negotiable A-shares traded on the bourse.

SMEs listed on the board saw their annual revenue and net profits grow 30 percent and 18.5 percent on the average, respectively, from 2004 to 2008, the bourse said, adding that forecasts filed by the companies showed that their net profit growth may average 21 percent year-on-year in 2009.

China's SMEs contribute 60 percent of the country's GDP and half of the country's tax income, and provide 75 percent of the nation's jobs. They also own 65 percent of China's patent rights.