The newly-established Beijing Stock Exchange (BSE)  started trading Monday, marking a key step in China's efforts to deepen  capital market reform and support small businesses.

At  the launching ceremony, Yi Huiman, chairman of the China Securities  Regulatory Commission, has hailed the launch of BSE as "another landmark  in China's capital market reform and development."

The  launch came only two months after an announcement of the plan for a new  stock exchange, in addition to the two existing bourses on the Chinese  mainland -- in Shanghai and Shenzhen respectively.

The  first batch of 81 companies debuted on Monday, of which 10 were newly  approved and 71 were transferred from the selected tier of China's  National Equities Exchange and Quotations, also known as the "new third  board."

As  of 10:20 a.m., shares of all the 10 newly-listed companies had  triggered temporary suspension twice as their prices jumped over 60  percent. These shares continued rallying after trading resumed, with the  highest surging by over 500 percent at some point.

The  stock exchange doesn't limit the price change of the newly-listed  companies on the first trading day, but trading will be suspended for 10  minutes when stock prices fluctuate by over 30 percent and over 60  percent.

All  81 firms are top performers in their respective sectors, boasting sound  business operations and great potential for growth, said Li Xudong,  managing director of China Securities.

Li  added that 87 percent of these firms are from fields such as advanced  manufacturing, high-tech service and strategic emerging industries, with  their average spending on research and development topping 25.36  million yuan (about 3.97 million U.S. dollars).

Over  95 percent of China's enterprises are small and medium-sized  enterprises (SMEs). These small businesses are major job creators in the  country and an important part of its real economy but have long  suffered from insufficient financing.

"Setting  up the BSE is of vital importance in creating a multi-level capital  market, improving financial support for SMEs, as well as promoting  innovation-driven development and economic transformation and  upgrading," Yi said.