Financial Means to Help Revive EnterprisesAnshan Iron and Steel Company in northeast China's Liaoning Province, one of the country's largest state-owned companies, recently reduced its debt by 6.366 billion yuan(about US$763.92 million) by the means of transferring debts to equity.Two assets management companies, divided among the State-owned commercial banks, were involved in the company's restructuring. The two now hold 27.99 percent and 7.63 percent of steel company's shares respectively. Wu Xichun, chairman of Association of China's Iron and Steel Industry, said this was a good try in restructuring the State- owned enterprises, which at the same time would modernize the company's management and operational system. To help those small and medium-sized enterprises through financial difficulties, the local government set up a guarantee center in August 1999, providing guarantee service when the companies apply for bank loans. The guarantee center in more than one years has helped 31 small and medium-sized enterprises get loans of nearly 170 million yuan with its 37.5 million yuan of funds. The center has also set up a co-responsible system with the banks to lower their financial risks. There are more than 2,450 such companies in Anshan City, or 98.7 percent of the total enterprises. Lack of funds and difficulty in financing has dampened their development. |
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