BEIJING — China’s National Equities Exchange and Quotation (NEEQ), also known as the “new third board,” saw 21 new small and medium-sized enterprises last week.

The newcomers brought the total number of companies on the board to 11,594, official data showed.

Turnover on the board stood at 4.82 billion yuan (about $726 million) last week, up 13.48 percent from the previous week.

NEEQ was launched in early 2013 to supplement the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges in serving small and medium-sized enterprises.

It is seen as an easy financing channel for small businesses with low costs and simple listing procedures.