A view of Lujiazui, Shanghai’s financial hub. (WANG JIANHUA / XINHUA)

BEIJING - Newly listed firms on China's National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ), also known as the "new third board," reported a nearly 20-percent growth in net profits in 2019, according to the exchange.

A total of 249 companies debuted on the new third board in the period with their net profits growing at a 19.8-percent rate, faster than those registered in the previous three years, the exchange said.

A total of 249 companies debuted on the new third board in the period with their net profits growing at a 19.8-percent rate, faster than those registered in the previous three years

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Firms listed on the NEEQ in 2019 had also seen improved cash flow, with more than 63 percent of them posting a positive net cash flow, higher than the percentages in the previous three years.

Launched in 2013, the new third board is the third national equity trading bourse after the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. It is designed for innovative, start-up and high-growth micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises.

China has outlined a series of reforms to better orient the NEEQ to the needs and features of small enterprises and support high-quality growth of the real economy, according to the China Securities Regulatory Commission in October.

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As of Monday, 8,870 companies had been listed on the NEEQ, including 666 on the innovation tier and 8,204 on the base tier. There were 397 companies forced to be delisted from the NEEQ in 2019 for failing to disclose regular reports on schedule.