Editor’s Words

　　Since last year, in spite of the overall gloom economy, Yichang has succeeded in achieving social and economic development and growth by changing economic pattern. In the first quarter of this year, the major economic indicators have been rising month by month, outpacing the national and provincial average levels. From today on, a series of reports will be focusing on “Vigorous Yichang”, tracing the gradual development of the city.

　　Enjoyable Weather of Yichang in April

　　---beautiful mountains and rivers in spring

　　Walking into this National Model City of Social Development, you can see the unstoppable development. On the net-like roads in the old city are people and cars thronging in strings; on both sides of the broad roads in the New District are the revolving tower cranes; factories and tall buildings have sprung up like mushrooms. All these prosperities suggest that Yichang has been engaged in building herself into a megacity.

　　Major development needs major industries. In recent years, an increasing number of large enterprises and projects have settled in Yichang and give impetus to major industries as well as the development of the New District. When being interviewed, the entrepreneurs from large enterprises to small corporations in Yichang attribute their business opportunities mainly to the great support from financial institutions.

　　Huang Chuping, Member of the Standing Provincial Party Committee, said that now is the best time for Yichang to develop its economy because financial institutions and market subject are on the wonderful stage of win-win cooperation.

　　Banks Help Enterprises Out With Loads

　　For the whole week, Liu Guangping, Director of the Financial Department of Hubei Sanning Chemical Corporation, Ltd, had been worrying about capital raising.

　　Since many kinds of its chemical fertilizers were well sold, the company needed to expand production but was then lack of money. “Have you got any ideas? We will lose the market in half a month if we cannot raise enough capital”, Liu was asked by the chairman of the company from time to time, who is burning with anxiety.

　　Liu figured out with careful estimation that the expansion needs 0.2 billion RMB yuan at least, while the collateral of the capital raising had been used up.

　　As the saying goes, “One cent tumbles a talent.” Although Sanning is a local 10-billion enterprise, it still cannot easily go through the financial problem.

　　The market does not wait, and the opportunity runs off in the next minute. “The last way is to ask Cheng Bin, President of the Three Gorges Bank of ICBC, for help.” In the urgency, Liu called Cheng.

　　Having heard Liu’s request, Cheng immediately sent people to Sanning to understand the particular condition of the company. The next day, Liu received a call. It was Cheng saying that “We will help you out within three days.”

　　Two days later, the Three Gorges Bank worked out a finance leasing plan: two production lines of Sanning will be the collateral, and the trust company will help with the capital raising.

　　Liu was relieved and happy. He said, “It is a really fresh idea to take production lines as collateral. In doing this, the company can keep producing and operating, while the cost of capital raising can be cut down.” Soon, Sanning received the capital of 0.22 billion RMB yuan from the Three Gorges Bank of ICBC. With it, the company could speed up its production, and make greater profit.

　　In Yichang, the financial institutions are willing to play the role of “gas station” and provide increasingly large support for enterprises like Sanning with prosperous market. Last year, for instance, the Three Gorges Branch of China Construction Bank (CCB) deposited loan balance of 31.9 billion RMB yuan to some enterprises in Yichang. CCB has newly increased 4.8 billion RMB yuan to the lending quota in Yichang branch, outnumbering the total newly-added quota of other branches of other cities.

　　By the end of last year, the deposit and loan balances of financial institutions in Yichang had reached 238.1 billion RMB yuan and 174.9 billion RMB yuan, the scale of which ranked the first among the cities in Hubei, and so as the increment.

　　When Foreign Trade Enterprises Encountering Difficulties, Banks Get Financing Overseas

　　In recent years, the economy of Yichang has witnessed rapid growth, with great contributions from foreign trade export. Last year, the international market was still in the doldrums. However, for the first time Yichang’s foreign exchange earnings through the exports topped at $ 2 billion, which ranked second in the province.

　　Yichang has more than 200 foreign trade enterprises. They not only sell products abroad, but some of them even“bring money”back from the foreign countries.

　　Some experts feel quite pleased because now Yichang could get overseas financing and $ 400 million has been financed via exporting.

　　The enterprises in Yichang are grateful for what the financial institutions have done in helping them to successfully get overseas financing.

　　Hubei Dongsheng Chemical Group is known as the leading enterprise of Yuan’an County of Yichang City, and its fine phosphorus chemical products are exported to Singapore, the South Korea, India, South Africa and other countries. Last year, the enterprise received a number of orders from overseas customers successively.

　　Usually, the overseas customers are used to settlement in batches, resulting in a very long payment cycle. After calculation, $ 100 million financing is needed in order to complete these overseas orders.

　　With no experience of such business, Hubei Dongsheng Chemical Group felt extremely worried about it. Fortunately, the Three Gorges Branch of Bank of China gave Dongsheng a helping hand after hearing the news. Hu Mingfeng, General Manager of the international business department of the bank, said that their financing product aimed at foreign trade enterprises was helpful. The enterprise can get low-cost overseas financing only if the enterprises have their order forms insured in the insurance company with the documents of the overseas orders, export documents, and agreements. Then, the Three Gorges Branch of Bank of China help Dongshen successfully got $ 100 million overseas financing.

　　In this way, more than 400 million yuan of the financial cost of the financing was saved.

　　Similarly, on February 12, the Yichang Branch of Bank of Communications got more than $ 50 million financing by making use of the export orders of Hubei Yihua Group Limited Liability Company.

　　According to statistics, 72 market players completed 4 billion yuan of cross-border yuan trade settlement by the financing way of overseas orders provided by financial institutions in the last year, an increase of 1.5 billion yuan compared with the same period of the previous year.

　　Financial Institutions Offer Helping Hands, Small and Micro Enterprises Shoot Up

　　As the provincial second-largest economy, more than 500,000 small and micro enterprises of Yichang have emerged and become important power for the city development. However, they are still occasionally faced with "money shortage."

　　When the enterprises are in trouble, the government offers help. Not long ago, Yichang issued a series of preferential policies to encourage financial institutions to increase credit investment, and built the financing platforms and secured loan financing platform for the small and micro enterprises. Before long, the municipal credit bodies of the small and micro enterprises have increased to 1,455.

　　Li Hongyu is the beverage wholesaler of Jindongshan wholesale market whose agent alcoholic products always sell well. But just a few days ago, he could only give up the chances to make money because of his money shortage.

　　After hearing that the Three Gorges Rural Commercial Bank has group lending business in the market, Li Hongyu instantly found another two beverage wholesalers named Chen Lingchu and Duan Yu who encounter the same financial difficulties, in order to form a lending group for financing application. "The bank did not ask me for collateral, and they gave me $ 1 million credit limit without hesitation after learning more about my business condition and credit." With the first loan, Li Hongyu was able to expand his production, so that his sales revenue was doubled.

　　Only in Jindongshan wholesale market, there are 68 group lending bodies of the small and micro enterprises such as Li Hongyu. The Three Gorges Rural Commercial Bank gives 205 commercial stores for credit in the market and the total credit reaches 180 million yuan.

　　According to statistics, the banks in Yichang including the China Minsheng Bank, the Hankou Bank, the Three Gorges Branch of Bank of China and the Three Gorges Rural Commercial Bank have already launched nearly a hundred kinds of credit products to the municipal 2,000 small and micro enterprises with more than 100 billion yuan loan balance.

　　Owning to the help of the financial institutions, market players are popping up while the economy is growing steadily. Currently, there are 71,712 small and micro enterprises in Yichang, with an increase of 40% compared with the same period of previous year. Last year, the GDP of Yichang totaled 281.8 billion yuan, with an increase of 11.5% compared with last year. Thus, Yichang has become one of the most vigorous economies in Hubei and even in China.  (Reporters: Tang Yigui, Wang Chenglong, Yan Yuntao; correspondent: Yi Shixuan)