BEIJING, May 11 -- Companies listed on China's "new third board," a financing platform for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), have reported revenue growth for three consecutive years.

A total of 5,926 listed companies posted combined revenue of 1.57 trillion yuan (over 220 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023, up 3.08 percent year on year, according to the National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ).

The NEEQ said companies on the board registered stable performance in general last year and the quality of newly-listed firms continued to improve. The board also saw the concentration of innovative SMEs that use special and sophisticated technologies to produce novel and unique products.

The long-term investment by the board's companies reached 81.81 billion yuan in 2023, 8.33 percent higher than the previous year, which indicated improving investment sentiment and recovering expectations.

With stronger innovation input, the R&D investment by these firms rose 2.5 percent to 54.89 billion yuan last year, marking the fifth straight annual increase. The number of innovative SMEs stood at 917, up by 228 from a year ago.

In 2023, 326 companies made debut on the board, about 20 percent higher than in 2022.

Launched in 2013, the board offers SMEs a financing channel with low costs and simple listing procedures. In 2023, companies on the board raised 18.02 billion yuan mainly to replenish liquidity and pay back loans.