The tiny Beijing stock exchange is attracting more companies hoping to list this year than China’s two dominant mainland markets combined, as the previously-overlooked venue benefits from investors’ renewed appetite for small cap technology stocks.

Established by President Xi Jinping in September 2021, the exchange was for several years regarded as something of a joke by investors, with a market capitalisation of just $118bn, compared with a total of around $17tn across Shanghai, Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

But it has received 113 applications for initial public offerings so far in 2025, according to data provider Wind, more than Shanghai and Shenzhen put together. The Beijing exchange’s BSE 50 index has also risen 37.6 per cent this year, compared with 2.5 per cent for the country’s benchmark CSI 300.