Since this year, as per the requirements “to keep employment, the financial sector, foreign trade, foreign and domestic investments, and expectations stable”, ICBC continued to improve its financial services to the manufacturing industry, assisting enterprises in combating the COVID-19, stabilizing operations, transforming and upgrading to achieve high-quality development. As of the end of March, ICBC’s outstanding loans to manufacturing enterprises exceeded RMB1.55 trillion, representing an increase of RMB100 billion over the beginning of the year and leading the banking industry.

According to sources, ICBC, in order to actively support the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry, launched the “Year of Enhancing Financial Services for the Manufacturing Industry” bank-wide this year, focusing on advanced manufacturing, strategic emerging industries, and transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, etc.. Moreover, ICBC increased policy support, allocating more resources to targeted areas to strengthened product and service innovation. In particular, ICBC increased the limit for special loans to manufacturing industry and further optimized the credit approval process to lower the financing costs of manufacturing enterprises. ICBC also improved various types of loan products, including technological transformation, and increased credit supply. At the same time, ICBC provided comprehensive financial services for manufacturing enterprises through diversified financial instruments and product portfolios including loans, equity, bonds, leasing and so on. In the first quarter, the bank underwrote and issued over RMB23 billion of bonds for several manufacturing enterprises.

In promoting work and production resumption in manufacturing industry, ICBC gave special support to core supply chain enterprises to meet their financial needs on employment, equipment procurement, raw material supply and logistics, so as to help stabilize the industrial chain for the industry and keep operations stability for upstream and downstream small and micro enterprises. For example, ICBC stepped up financing support to key manufacturing industries, such as aerospace, automobile, and equipment manufacturing, in a bid to activate enterprises with long industrial chains and strong leading role first, and clear the way for production resumption of SMEs. In the first quarter, ICBC extended over RMB10 billion of preferential loans to manufacturing enterprises and about RMB18 billion to enterprises in upstream and downstream industries along the industry chain.