Exchange proves prime route to main market

China's over-the-counter market, or the New Third Board, has helped small and medium-sized enterprises raise 26.47 billion yuan ($4.07 billion) so far this year, the latest figures from the National Equities Exchange and Quotations reveal.

As of Monday, the number of firms on the board had reached 5,906, with average daily trading value at 610 million yuan, and increasing numbers of firms are now adopting the financing platform as a faster way of getting listed on the A-share market, officials said.

Now China's third-biggest equity market, the New Third Board was initiated in 2006 as an experimental platform for small- and medium-sized enterprises to transfer shares.