The mainland launched its biggest over-the-counter equity trading platform in Shenzhen this week.

The Qianhai Equity Exchange is aimed at increasing access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises and offers much looser listing requirements than the main stock exchanges.

The move is part of a series of policies to ease financing difficulties for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which authorities see as vital to transforming the mainland’s growth model away from reliance on capital investment and for promoting growth in technology and service industries.