Beijing assists small and micro enterprises using financial innovation

Initial loans from Beijing's banks to small and micro enterprises will reach 80 billion yuan ($11 billion) this year, the Beijing Banking and Insurance Supervision Bureau announced recently.

After three months' operation, banks in Beijing's initial loan center have approved 429 loans worth a total of 1.7 billion yuan.

The center opened on April 1, making it China's first initial loan center.

The loan center serves "zero credit" lenders, as well as other urgent loan seekers. It is home to representatives from 22 banks, three financing guarantee institutions and three micro-finance institutions, making it easy for borrowers to consult and gather information.

"Many companies are unclear about banking products when they're looking to get a bank loan for the first time, which makes it difficult for them to choose," said Zhang Xiaowei, assistant to the CEO of Beijing Green Valley Technology Co, Ltd.

She added that compared with bank outlets, enterprises can compare all loan products from every bank at the same time at the loan center and make use of various preferential loan policies.

The center adopted a service-window model, allowing enterprises to interact with banks face-to-face. This model improves transaction transparency, spurs banks to offer better services and reduces corporate financing costs.