Beijing to launch Nasdaq-style exchange

After nine years of preparation, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) is expected to issue rules for a Nasdaq-style stock market for start-up companies after the meeting of the National People’s Congress ends on March 13th, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) could be launched on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange as early as May. The Shenzhen Stock Exchange set up a small- and medium-sized enterprise board in 2004, but its listing requirements were the same as the main board, discouraging start-up companies. The draft rules for the GEM state that companies must have an accumulated net profit of at least US$1.5 million for the two years before listing. This compares with an accumulated net profit of US$4.39 million over three years to be listed on Shenzhen’s main board. However, analysts said that the CSRC could favor mature high-tech firms as the first companies to list on the GEM. The companies’ stocks would diminish market risks and protect China’s largely inexperienced retail investors.