The launching ceremony for the Zhongguancun Enterprises Fund in Beijing's Zhongguancun Science Park was held on June 29. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A special fund was established in Beijing on June 29 to facilitate the sustainable growth of Zhongguancun companies listed on the so-called New Third Board.

The New Third Board, or National Equities Exchange and Quotation (NEEQ) system, is a national system for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to transfer shares and raise funds.

SMEs headquartered in Beijing's Zhongguancun Science Park, known as China's Silicon Valley, have maintained strong growth momentum in the past year, the Zhongguancun Listed Companies Association reported during the launching conference.

Resorting to comprehensive analysis and bench-marking assessments on the status, growth, distribution and contribution of the New Third Board market, the report drew four major conclusions and emphasized the strong potential of Zhongguancun SMEs.

According to the report, Zhongguancun SMEs reached a total revenue of 242.1 billion yuan ($36.2 billion), a 7.37 percent growth compared with the same period last year. Among the companies, 36 realized an explosive net profit growth of over 10 times, with most being innovation-oriented.

With a research fund exceeding 9.76 billion yuan, Zhongguancun SMEs filed 2,129 patents, a year-on-year increase of 15.02 percent, leading many to anticipate a promising future of stable economic growth and global expansion.

Many Zhongguancun SMEs adopt an asset-light strategy, with the average percentage of their fixed assets ratio being just 5.03 percent, far less than the national average of 14 percent. The asset-light business model has enabled them to remain steady despite the ups and downs in their respective industries. About 40 percent of Zhongguancun SMEs are committed to emerging industries like information transfer, software development and information technology.

Zhongguancun SMEs have a total market value of 682.75 billion yuan, giving them a strong advantage even when compared with SMEs in economic centers such as Shanghai (254.75 billion yuan), Zhejiang (250.68 billion yuan) and Jiangsu (250.68 billion yuan).

The New Third Board was shaped in 2006 as an experimental platform for non-listed small high-tech enterprises in Zhongguancun Science Park.

The present system was officially established on Jan 16, 2013 after trials in cities such as Shanghai, Tianjin and Wuhan.

The system complements the existing stock exchanges, the SME board and the ChiNext board and is seen as an easy financing channel with low costs and simple listing procedures.

As the birthplace of the New Third Board, Zhongguancun will ramp up efforts to establish more special funds for artificial intelligence, biomedicine technology and smart manufacturing, adding a new sense of dynamism to the incubation of unicorn enterprises.

Representatives at the report conference in Beijing's Zhongguancun Science Park on June 29 [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]