Hangzhou Commits Money to High-tech IndustryHangzhou, capital city of East China's Zhejiang Province is providing capital and other guarantees to assist the development of its high-tech industry.In addition to establishing a "software incubator" to encourage software research and development in the city's high-tech industrial development zone in May, the city began a new programme which was designed to provide capital and other guarantees to high-tech enterprises in need of funds. The 75 million yuan (US$9 million) first phase of the project was organized by the Hangzhou High-tech Industry Development Zone with funding from the China Construction Bank Zhejiang Branch. Under an agreement, the Construction Bank will provide loans to promising high-tech enterprises and the Hangzhou zone will guarantee them. "This project has long been on our minds. We are doing it to help our medium and small high-tech industries," said Wu Yipeng, director of the Management Committee of the zone. Wu said many medium and small high-tech firms in the zone are very optimistic about their chances for success, but they constantly worry about a lack of funds, especially the new firms. "Because of their limited size, these firms often have difficulty getting loans," said Wu. These problems are expected to be solved in the city with the establishment in March of its own high-tech guaranty company operating under the zone and the signing of the Construction Bank agreement. Five medium or small high-tech enterprises have already been given 8.5 million yuan (US$1.02 million) in loans based on the zone's willingness to provide guarantees. "Since high-tech industries are at the core of today's economic development, we will try our best to fuel its development,'' said Wang Ailing, deputy manager of the China Construction Bank Zhejiang Branch's business department. Wang said offering loans to high-tech industries is a very important step in the enlargement of the bank's sphere of operations. The city has 612 high-tech industries of various sizes, according to statistical information. They produced a total of 12.8 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion) in goods last year. Officials from the Hangzhou zone said the zone's companies' exports are increasing this year. Some of the firms are developing at a rate of 300 per cent to 600 per cent annually based on last year's experience. |
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