扩大对科技企业的融资支持

establishment of a science and technology (S&T)finance system adapted to S&Tinnovation, and the strengthening offinancial support for major national S&T tasks andsmall and medium-sized S&T enterprises. On May 22, [2025,] the State Council 15 Policy Measures to Accelerate the Establishment of an S&T Finance System Recently, seven ministries, including the Ministry of Science and Technology andthe People's Bank of China, jointly issuedCertain Policy Measures to Accelerate the Construction of the Science and Technology Finance System and Strongly Support aHigh Level of Self-Reliance in Science and Technology.1Vice Minister of Science andTechnology Qiu Yong (邱勇) explained that the policy measures focus on seven areas, Establish a “National Venture Capital Guidance Fund” to guide venture capital to "invest early, invest in small companies, invest long-term, and invest in hard S&T."2Aseries of new measures is put forward, centered around streamlining the entire venture capital life cycle of “fundraising, investment, management, and exit,” proposing to:Expand the scope of the pilot program for equity investments byfinancial asset Use structural monetary policy tools fully and effectively to guidefinancialinstitutions in increasing credit support for S&T enterprises. Further optimize thestructure, expand the scale, and reduce the interest rates on relending facilities for S&Tinnovation and technological transformation, creating dedicatedfinancing channels for Leverage the pivotal role of capital markets to support directfinancing for S&Tenterprises. Establish and improve capital market fast-tracking mechanisms for S&Tenterprises, and deepen reforms of the STAR Market4and ChiNext,5providing moresuitable and inclusive institutional support for enterprise innovation and growth. Aninnovative proposal is made to establish a “Science and Technology Board” in the bondmarket to raise long-term, low-interest, and easily accessible bond funds for S&T Develop S&T insurance to better fulfill its role in sharing and offsetting innovationrisks. Formulate guidelines to promote the high-quality development of S&T insurance,and establish a mechanism for coordinating the advancement of S&T insurancedevelopment. Establish and improve a comprehensive insurance product and service Encouraging the Creation of Insurance Against Expenses and Losses in theConversion of S&T Achievements into Practical Applications (科技成果转化) By the end of March [2025], the outstanding balance of loans to small andmedium-sized S&T enterprises reached Chinese Yuan Renminbi (RMB) 3.3 trillion,marking a year-on-year increase of 24% and the third consecutive year of increasesover 20%. The outstanding balance of loans to professional, precision, specialized, andinnovative (专精特新) enterprises reached RMB 6.3 trillion, with growth far exceeding Relevant ministries have released a package of S&Tfinance policies, includingmeasures to support a high level of self-reliance (自立自强) in S&T, full-lifecycle financial services, and an implementation plan for the high-quality development ofS&Tfinance. Banks and insurance institutions have been guided to launch targetedspecialized services such as “loans plus direct external investment,” intellectualproperty-backedfinancing (知识产权质押融资), and patent insurance. By the end of thefirst quarter, the banking industry’s outstanding loans to high-tech enterprises reached Guo Wuping explained that the next step will be to guide banking and insuranceinstitutions to strengthen their S&Tfinance service mechanisms, product systems, andprofessional capabilities, in order to achieve S&Tfinance services with higher quality,broader coverage, and greater effectiveness. The coordination mechanism for supporting micro and small enterprisefinancing will be encouraged to tilt toward S&Tfields and link them to support resources. Banks will be encouraged to make Advancing Cross-Border Financing Facilitation Pilot Programs Zhu Hexin (朱鹤新), Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China and Directorof the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said that efforts are focused on four Enhancing the funding strength and service capacity of S&T-focused lending. ThePeople’s Bank of China has increased the scale of relending facilities for S&T innovation simultaneously lowering the relending interest rate from 1.75% to 1.5%, guidingfinancial institutions to provide more robust and targeted loan support for enterprise Establishing a “Science and Technology Board” within the bond market. Toincrease the bond market’s adaptation to supporting S&T innovation,financialinstitutions and equity investmentfirms are to be supported in issuing S&T innovationbonds. The bond market “Science and Technology Board” will supportflexible phased Cultivating and improving the S&Tfinance ecosystem. Division of labor andcollaboration among different types offinancial institutions such as banks, insurancecompanies, securitiesfirms, and equity investment institutions