SHANGHAI: The Beijing Stock Exchange will launch trading on Monday, just two months after Chinese President Xi Jinping announced plans for the new bourse, which is designed to serve small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Eighty-one companies will see their shares traded on the bourse in the first batch of listings, the exchange said in a statement, adding it was “fully ready” for the start of trading.

China stocks up as property shares surge on policy easing bets

China’s securities regulator has said the new exchange will complement existing bourses in Shanghai and Shenzhen. Investors expect a busy start to the trade in light of frothy launches of other boards, such as Shanghai’s STAR Market in 2019.