Have a Donkey to Trade? China Has an Exchange for That

Chances are, if you can buy it or sell it, China has an exchange for it. The latest example? The China Donkey Exchange. It’s one of more than 1,000 trading venues that now dot Asia’s largest economy, up from 300 in 2011, according to SunSirs, a provider of data and research on Chinese commodity markets.

The country has everything from the national stock exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen to small operations that consist of little more than software for matching buyers and sellers. But regional trading venues are becoming ever-bigger players. Helping determine prices for agricultural products, metals, and chemicals, they now cover 32 of China’s 34 provincial-level regions. An orchid exchange began operating in Yunnan province in September, and a market for small-company shares opened in Ningbo in May.