BEIJING - Shares of 69 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) started trading on China's New Third Board this week bringing the number of companies listed on the market to 8,988.

The aggregate market value surpassed 3.44 trillion yuan ($515 billion). Turnover on the New Third Board reached 3.26 billion yuan last week, up 6.36 percent week on week.

The New Third Board, or National Equities Exchange and Quotation, is a national share transfer system for SMEs.

It was initiated in 2006 as an experimental platform to facilitate financing for China's non-listed small and promising high-tech enterprises in Beijing's Zhongguancun Science Park. The present system was officially established on Jan 16, 2013.

It complements the existing stock exchanges, the SME board and the ChiNext board and is seen as an easy financing channel with low costs, simple listing procedures, and a short application period for companies not qualified for listing on the major exchanges.