China's little secret: a thriving, free market in shares

Hong Kong

FAR away from the glare of China's stock market chaos, stampede of sell orders and freeze on new listings, the spirit of free markets is alive and kicking right in the nation's capital.

A small stock exchange set up in Beijing three years ago to attract small and medium-sized companies, the so-called New Third Board (NTB), is flourishing, even as Chinese authorities struggle to bend the nation's main stock markets to their will.