BEIJING — China's National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ), also known as the "new third board," has seen a turnover of more than 83.7 billion yuan (about $12 billion) so far this year.

From Aug 17 to Aug 21, its turnover reached around 2.5 billion yuan.

As of Aug 21, 8,456 companies were listed on the NEEQ.

Launched in 2013, the NEEQ intends to offer small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) a new financing channel with low costs and simple listing procedures.

China has outlined a series of reforms to better orient the NEEQ to the needs and features of small enterprises, and support the quality growth of the real economy.