BEIJING -- The Beijing Stock Exchange (BSE) will officially launch market-making trading business on its stock market on Feb 20, the bourse has announced.

The move was taken to further promote market reform and innovation, improve the market trading system, and enhance market vitality and resilience, said the bourse.

As of Friday, a total of 15 market makers have been approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission for the market-making trading business of listed securities, and 13 of them are to participate in the trading business on the Beijing bourse, said the BSE.

The introduction of market-making trading business to the bourse will help reduce investors' transaction costs and will raise market liquidity and stability, the stock exchange said.

The BSE was launched on Nov 15, 2021. By the end of last year, it had 162 listed companies and more than 5.26 million qualified investors.

The bourse is more inclusive for innovation-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises with lower listing thresholds, diverse evaluation standards, and a shorter approval time.