China's upcoming growth enterprise board for small start-ups to raise funds is no threat to the main stock market, Yao Gang, new vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), said Tuesday.

His comments followed continuous declines in China's bourses partly caused by fears of capital shortages after a series of restraining measures and huge refinancing.

"The market is not short of money but of better and more attractive investment products," said Yao in an online interview.

CSRC statistics showed the average market capitalization of the 222 companies listed on the Shenzhen small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) board was only 300 million yuan.

The number would be even lower, ranging from 100 million to 200 million yuan, on the growth enterprise board, he said.

Therefore the capitalization of listing 100 such enterprises would only match one major enterprise on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, he said.

The CSRC began to solicit opinions on the growth enterprise board on March 21. Shang Fulin, CSRC chairman, said in January the board would be opened on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in the first half of 2008.

Lack of finance has been a problem for China's 42 million small and medium-sized enterprises, more than 95 percent of which are privately owned.

Less than 2 percent of the SMEs access funds directly from the financial market, according to statistics from the National Development and Reform Commission.

(Xinhua News Agency March 26, 2008)