The Shenzhen stock exchange is asking brokers to offer a list of candidates for listing on the bourse's proposed Nasdaq-like growth market to help facilitate the board's launch.

Brokerages have been requested to detail the reserves of high-growth, start-up firms that hope to conduct public listings on a regional basis by October 20, the Shenzhen exchange said in a notice obtained by Shanghai Daily.

They have also been asked to hand in their long-term proposals to help small and medium enterprises go public and offer suggestions to the exchange for building up the growth board, the notice said.

Zhang Yujun, general manager at the Shenzhen bourse, was quoted by state media today as saying that his exchange is "sparing no effort'' to set up the growth board to provide a fund-raising platform for high-tech firms.

The notice said that the move to create a multi-layer capital market, especially to set up the growth board, "is proceeding smoothly.''

Chinese economists and market watchers have long argued that the country should reduce profit and revenue thresholds to allow more start-up companies to sell public shares to raise funds for expansion.

Currently, companies are required to post profits for three consecutive years and generate 30 million yuan in collective earnings during the period. Cumulative revenue in the three year period must reach 300 million yuan.

The Shenzhen stock exchange in 2004 established the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Board but didn't lower the listing criteria. Most of the board's 160-odd listed firms have an equity base of less than 400 million shares.

China in June drafted a plan to set up the growth board and has been soliciting industry-wide opinions on the proposal since then, industry sources said earlier. The three-year earnings requirement may be cut to 10 million yuan, they said.

(Shanghai Daily October 15, 2007)