China advances financial services for manufacturing industry

China will step up efforts on enhancing financial services for the manufacturing industry, to facilitate the advancement of new industrialization, according to a circular unveiled on Tuesday.

The joint report published by the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the National Development and Reform Commission, the circular said the country will focus on key tasks to strengthen financial support for the manufacturing industry.

Those key tasks include supporting industrial and supply chain safety and stability, promoting sci-tech innovations for industrial development, facilitating industrial upgrades and optimization of industrial structure, and promoting the intelligent and green development of industries.

Banking and insurance institutions should strengthen medium and long-term financial support for the upgrades of equipment and technologies in the traditional manufacturing sectors, as well as play up the roles of the specialized work of expanding medium and long-term loans for the manufacturing industry and the national industry-financing cooperation platforms, to promote the efficient matching between financial resources and the financing needs from the industrial transformation, the circular said. 

It said that regulators will facilitate the cultivation and expansion of strategic emerging industries. With a focus on key industries such as information technology, artificial intelligence, the internet of things, biotechnology, new materials, high-end equipment, and aerospace, the circular asked to strengthen financial support and risk prevention and expand the scale of credit loans for the strategic emerging industries. 

The circular also asked to optimize the financial services supply for the foreign trade sector of the manufacturing industry, including strengthening protection from export credit insurance and supporting overseas development of enterprises in industries such as automobiles, home appliances, machinery, aviation, and ship and marine engineering equipment.

Insurance funds, on the premise of keeping risk controllable and willing from a commercial perspective, should provide long-term stable financial support for strategic emerging industries through various forms, such as purchasing bonds, direct equity investment, private equity funds, venture capital funds, and insurance asset management products, it said.

liuzhihua@chinadaily.com.cn