Bank of Communications deepening ties with tech firms

Bank of Communications Co Ltd is deepening cooperation with technology companies by providing them with full life cycle financial services covering investment, financing, initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and wealth management to take advantage of the launch of the Nasdaq-style STAR Market.

About 37 percent of China's unicorn companies, tech startups valued at over $1 billion, are located in the Yangtze River Delta region, a major origin for technological innovation.

As one of the country's largest State-owned commercial lenders by assets, Bank of Communications has supported the landing of more than 280 financial technology projects in the region, bank Executive Vice-President Lyu Jiajin said at a news conference in Beijing on Thursday.

The bank's subsidiaries, BOCOM International Holdings Company Ltd and Bank of Communications International Trust Co Ltd, jointly set up in April a private equity fund focusing on investment in science and technological innovation.

The fund will invest in technology innovation enterprises with a high potential for growth and is expected to reach nearly 1 billion yuan ($140 million) by the end of this year. Four projects have been approved for investment covering the key fields of database, cloud computing, chip design and biopharmaceuticals, said Lyu.

The fund entered into a cooperation agreement with 10 investment institutions on Sept 3. To enlarge the scope of the fund, the subsidiaries have joined hands with BOCOM branches in Jiangsu province, Chongqing municipality, and Shenzhen, Guangdong province, to initiate the establishment of regional sub-funds worth a total of 400 million yuan.

The bank is also collaborating with innovative industrial parks along with economic and technological development zones to raise money through bonds issued by companies registered in those places.

China is pushing forward the integration of the Yangtze River Delta to build the region into an example of high-quality development.

Lyu noted that integrated regional development will bring new opportunities to the financial sector by promoting financial innovation in the region's free trade zones, improve the quality and efficiency of cross-border financial services, and expand the global financial markets business.

It will also foster a positive environment for technology innovation, which is key in extending the supply and value chain of the fintech industry, and promote a deeper integration between finance and technology, he added.

At the end of June, BOCOM's total financing in the Yangtze River Delta region amounted to nearly 2 trillion yuan, accounting for more than 30 percent of the total financing of the bank and its subsidiaries.

BOCOM broke down the geographical barriers between its head office and branches, as well as among all of its branches in this region, and launched regionally integrated customer marketing and management services to ensure a smooth flow of business and capital, said He Jing, deputy general manager of the financial department at Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co Ltd.

Listed on the stock exchanges in Shanghai and Hong Kong, the company provides leading healthcare services in research and development, manufacturing, distribution and retail. Its largest amount of bank loans came from BOCOM.

In the first half of this year, the net profit attributable to equity holders of the company increased by 12.45 percent year-on-year to 2.29 billion yuan.