news conference — Centrally-administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are encouraged to list on the new science and technology innovation board to boost vitality, the country’s top state asset regulator said on July 16.

“We strongly advocate and support central SOEs to participate in the new sci-tech board,” said Peng Huagang, spokesperson of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, at a press conference.

Central SOE China Railway Signal & Communication Co. Ltd has become one of the first batch of companies debuting on the sci-tech board, and applications of 14 central SOEs for the board have been handled, Peng said.

The board will boost central SOE capability in innovation and encourage the development of strategic emerging industries, he added.

China’s new sci-tech innovation board will start trading on July 22, with the first batch of 25 companies debuting on the board, according to the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE).

The new board, proposed in November 2018 and launched at the SSE last month, is the first submarket of China’s capital market to adopt the registration-based IPO system.

It aims to provide direct financing support for tech companies and help China’s capital market spearhead a new round of reforms.