Recently, the “Investment Fund for Fujian Enterprise Technology Upgrade (limited partnership)” (hereinafter called Fujian Technological Transformation Fund), initiated by IB, has signed project agreement with the total amount of all RMB 8 billion within one year, saving RMB 240 million for enterprise requiring technological transformation each year. According to report, the projects already signed have reached a total amount of nearly RMB 6 billion.
The signing projects of Fujian Technological Transformation Fund cover traditional advantageous industries such as textile, petrochemical engineering, electronic information, food & light industry, machinery, as well as emerging industries such as new energy and new material, and geographically fully cover key technological transformation projects in all cities and districts (excluding Xiamen) of Fujian Province. It has effectively supported the construction of 69 key technological transformation projects of the province with the total investment of RMB 65.2 billion, feeding powerful financial impulse for the structural reform of supply side of Fujian, and effectively promoting the technological improvement and product upgrade in some relevant industries in Fujian.
“The Fujian Technological Transformation Fund allows for qualified key technological transformation projects to obtain a long term capital support with the interest rate much lower than that of mid-term or long term loan for enterprises only by paying 3% of credit financing cost. It not only practically reduces the financing cost for enterprises, but also supports enterprises to accelerate technological transformation and upgrade, thus offering a power financial support for driving Fujian’s industrial pattern from low end to high end, deepening the structural reform of supply side, and opening another chapter of a New Fujian.” said Xue Hefeng, Vice President of IB.
Fujian Technological Transformation Fund was jointly initiated by IB and the Financial Department of Fujian Province and officially registered in July 2016 with an initial scale of RMB 8 billion and a valid term of 10 years. Industrial Investment (Pingtan) Capital Management Co., Ltd. offers market-oriented and professional active management service for this fund and supports technological transformation and upgrading of enterprises through investments of equity and debt. The investment is mainly made to small and medium-sized private manufacturing enterprises of Fujian. As a kind of innovative financial tool, apart from credit financing activities such as traditional project loans and technological transformation loans, Fujian Technological Transformation Fund offers a completely different way of thinking for facilitating the transformation and upgrade and enterprises and the economy. While leading the entire China, this initiative also takes a paradigmatic role in accelerating the economic structure adjustment and industrial transformation upgrade in China.
On the investment course of the Fund, IB focuses on the core technological transformation and upgrade in the subdivisions of manufacturing industry and provides financial impulse for enterprises to maintain core competitiveness. On one hand, IB simplifies guarantee conditions and takes into account enterprises’ qualification and project condition to provide enterprises with more convenient financing support in the form of pure credit, surety bonds or rolling and adding securities after investment. On the other hand, as China's first Equator Bank, IB utilizes its business feature and advantage of green finance in the process of investing in Fujian Technological Transformation Fund, actively carries out the concept of sustainable development, puts focus on supporting energy conservation, emission reduction project reconstruction, green ecological development, helps enterprises in terms of technological transformation and upgrade in waste-heat utilization, co-processing of waste water and solid wastes and ultra-low emission design. The project structure of the fund shows a significant feature of “green”. By now, there have been 13 enterprises that have transformed from traditional highly pollutant enterprises to new energy ones by virtue of the Fund, with the total contractual amount of RMB 2.095 billion, accounting for 26.2%.
According to the technological transformation plan for Fujian enterprises, by 2020, the annual growth of investment into Fujian’s industrial technological transformation would reach over 15%, the total investment completed would exceed RMB 3 trillion. As a low-cost fund, Fujian Technological Transformation Fund fills the gap of industries in Fujian and accelerates the transformation and upgrade. By leading and enhancing role of financial institution, it leads social capital to actively engage in technological transformation of enterprises, adds financial supplies, and has become a new engine for making a new version of Fujian industries and boosting the structural reform of supply side.