Shenzhen Stock Exchange in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province Photo: Xinhua

Under the State Council’s authorization, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) approved the merger of Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s main board and small and medium enterprises (SME) board. The merger will officially kick off on April 6, the exchange’s official media account said Wednesday night.

“The securities category of the former listed companies on the SME board will be changed to ‘A shares on the main board,’ while Securities codes and abbreviations remain unchanged,” the exchange said.

The CSRC approved on February 5 the merger of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange main board and SME board, saying that the move will better respond to financing needs of companies in different development phases. 

By the end of January, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange's main board and the SME board housed 1,468 listed companies, accounting for 35 percent of the total A-share market. The market value of these companies reached 23.39 trillion yuan ($3.6 trillion), or 29 percent of the entire market, according to the CSRC.

“The main board and the SME board have played a vital role in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises. However, there are also some issues such as the overlapping of the business scope of both boards,” the CSRC said in February.

Therefore, the merger is a problem-oriented reform, which is conducive to optimizing the portfolio structure of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and establish a development pattern. The merger will also enhance the service function of the exchange, the CSRC announced.