China’s communist dictator Wen Jiabao said his government intends to set up a “Nasdaq-like” board that will allow start-up companies to trade shares in the stock market.

According to a report by Money Morning, “in creating speculator-friendly Chinese penny stocks, the government is throwing a wet blanket on stocks already struggling to regain momentum, as the Shanghai Stock Exchange is down 29.9% from its October 16 peak.”

Jiabao say when the new exchange would be set up, though it could be as early as this year.

China’s rival Taiwan is also making news.

Taiwan continues its leap forward towards the internationalization of the island’s capital markets, says Sally Limantour.

“In January 2008, the Taiwan Stock Exchange stated plans to list more than a dozen exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from the US, Japan, Korea, Singapore and France during the next six months. During these times of increasing volatility, capital is still flowing into emerging markets — and Taiwan is a leader in that regard.”