According to theNotice on Launching a New Round of Initiatives for Enterprise Technological Improvementby Fujian Provincial People’s Government (Fujian[2015]No. 61), the Enterprise Technological Improvement Fund, led by the Fujian Provincial Economic and Information Technology Commission, was set up by Fujian ProvincialDepartment of Finance and the Industrial Bank. On July 8th, the Enterprise Technological Improvement Fund,co-initiated by Fujian Provincial Department of Finance and the Industrial Bank(limited partnership)was officially registered in Mawei Free Trade Zone inFuzhou city.The fund, with an initial size of 8 billion yuan and a time limit of 10 years, was planned to be put into operation on August 1stto support the enterprises’technological improvement andupgrading in Fujian province.
Asa financial innovation tool, Enterprise Technological Improvement Fund doesn’t belong to the debt financing, such as debt for traditional projects and debt for technological improvement. It provides a new way of thinking to promote enterprise transformation and upgrading under the “new normal”. The fund lays stress on expanding and boosting the efficiency of advanced production capacity, and improving the quality and brand, and centers upon smart-oriented transformation, service-oriented manufacturing, projects to consolidate the industrialfoundation, green ecological development, transformation of scientific and technological achievements and public service platform. The Industrial Fund, the subsidiary of Industrial Bank, is in charge of the Enterprise Technological Improvement Fund.
Asan important base of advanced manufacturing industry in the China’s eastern coastal area, Fujian province boasts a solid industrial foundation and prominent advantages. It is also at a crucial stage of transformation and upgrading and technological improvement is a powerful leverthat helps to transform the middle and lowendtraditional industriesinto middle and high end ones. As a leading Fujian-based financialenterprise, the Industrial Bank supports the technological improvement, transformation and upgrading of enterprises in Fujian province. Meanwhile, as the main initiator of the fund, it completed a series of work from the early fundraising to signing the agreement within a short time and developed a new mode where the banks participate in the regional economic restructuring and supply-side reform.
The insiders analyze that through equity and debt investment and with the help of professional and market-oriented operation of financial enterprises represented by the Industrial Bank, the Enterprise Technological Improvement Fundcenters upon the growth cycle of the enterprises that need technological improvement, fully motivatesthe financial institutions and social-capital backed enterprises to improve their technologies, achieves precise financial investment, gradually explores a commercial cooperation pattern where the government, the bank and the enterprise jointly take the risk and share the earnings, and ensures all the involved parties can make gains in terms of regional economic restructuring and supply-sidereform.