Recently, China's Industrial Bank (CIB) successfully launched the first batch of "R&D Loans for Tech Enterprises" in cities including Wuhan and Wuxi, further supporting the accelerated transformation of scientific and technological innovations through tailored financial products.
This year, the National Financial Regulatory Administration issued the Notice on Strengthening Full Lifecycle Financial Services for Tech Enterprises, proposing to help technology enterprises at different stages increase their R&D investments. In response, CIB has been actively developing a novel credit evaluation system tailored to the needs of tech enterprises. The bank has innovatively introduced the exclusive product "R&D Loans for Tech Enterprises," which provides full lifecycle financial services for tech enterprises across their startup, growth, and maturity stages, fostering a virtuous cycle of "Technology-Industry-Finance."
It is understood that the R&D Loans for Tech Enterprises addresses pain points such as long R&D cycles by offering suitable loan terms that align with their needs, effectively meeting medium- and long-term financing needs for patent purchases, research equipment acquisition, and employee salary payments. In Hubei, a national 'little giant' specialized and innovative SME in Wuhan has been accelerating its efforts to break through technological barriers in the semiconductor industry, resulting in significant demand for R&D funding. After a comprehensive assessment of the enterprise's R&D needs, CIB's Wuhan branch efficiently approved and issued a three-year R&D loan, aligning with the enterprise's R&D cycle and strongly supporting the transition of technological innovations from the laboratory to the production line.
"Micro, small and medium-sized tech enterprises often face challenges in meeting traditional bank credit risk control requirements due to their short operating history, light assets, and lack of collateral. When determining financing limits of R&D Loans for Tech Enterprises, CIB thoroughly evaluates the enterprises' R&D investments to support the incubation, transformation, and industrialization of technological innovations," a representative from CIB explained.
In Jiangsu, a semiconductor packaging equipment manufacturing enterprise in Wuxi, established less than three years ago, is currently accelerating the research and development of next-generation technologies. CIB's Wuxi branch leveraged the R&D Loans for Tech Enterprises to overcome limitations related to the company's financial metrics and asset strength, providing a credit line of RMB 7 million based on its R&D investments. This effectively addressed the company's urgent technology development needs.
Notably, the R&D Loans for Tech Enterprises can also replace shareholder loans resulting from patent purchases or R&D equipment acquisitions, further bridging the investment and financing chain and fostering patient capital. As of the end of November, CIB's loan balance for small and medium-sized technology and finance enterprises exceeded RMB 600 billion, a 23% increase from the beginning of the year, with loan balance for specialized and innovative enterprises surpassing RMB 200 billion.