Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Wuxi National Hi-tech District (WND) have been an engine for the transformation and upgrade of the economy in the district, leveraging effective finance through the New Third Board.

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

"WND has witnessed the vigorous growth of SMEs added to China's New Third Board," a staff member of WND's financial service office said.

Since the first batch of eight SMEs debuted on the New Third Board in 2014, WND has embraced booming technology-driven listed SMEs, with the successful launch of two or three companies every month in 2016.

The recent listed Wuxi Foreign Trade Printing, a packaging service provider for pharmaceutical manufacturers, bolsters the number of WND-based SMEs on New Third Board to reach 63, accounting for nearly 33 percent of the total number in Wuxi. Langgao, the first listed nursing institution for the elderly nationwide, Chipown Micro-electronics, Wuxi's first listed power management chip company and Dayun Information Technology, Wuxi's first listed state-owned enterprise specializing in intelligent transportation have also emerged as specialized companies in WND.

Zhang Gangshe, general manager of Dayun Information Technology, revealed that shortage of capital before being listed on the New Third Board limited the company's development. After receiving funds through the New Third Board, the company entered a phase of rapid development, expanding from a small team of 25 to currently 68 members, with a 231.77 percent year-on-year increase of net profits in 2015.

Emerging industries including digital information, Internet of Things (IoT) and bio-pharmaceutical maintain rapid growth. In the first three quarters of 2016, above-scale industrial output (industrial companies with an annual turnover of at least 20 million yuan) in WND reached 225.24 billion yuan ($32.70 billion), a year-on-year increase of 4.9 percent.

WND will continue to support and service SMEs to stimulate the district's real economy. And for those SMEs added to the New Third Board, they should prepare for fiercer market competition after successful financing. Zhang Lixin, chairman of Chipown Micro-electronics, expressed that the company is considering a third round of investment expansion. Specializing in integrated circuits, the company hopes to leverage the platforms of the New Third Board in a bid to harvest in the integrated circuit industry transfer to China.