China's ChiNext stock market , a long-awaited Nasdaq-style second board, kicked off trading on Friday with strong gains, Reuters reported.

All 28 debutant stocks listed on ChiNext, part of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in southern China, were halted for 30 minutes at least once after they rose 20 percent from their opening prices.

Film producer Huayi Brothers Media Corp rose 123 per cent to become the biggest gainer.

Market expectations held that at least one-third of stocks would more than double on their first day of trading. It is typical for IPOs listing in Shenzhen to double or triple on the first day of trade because of their low capitalisation.

The 28 listees, almost all private companies in contrast with the state-owned corporations that dominate China's main board, completed IPOs over the past several weeks at prices averaging a hefty 56 times 2008 earnings.

Analysts estimate their average price/earnings (PE) ratio based on forecast 2009 earnings is around 40 times.

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