This article was written by Zhou Xuanqian, a reporter for this newspaper.
To thoroughly implement the Party Central Committee's decisions and plans on making significant strides in science and technology finance, and to fulfill the State Council's requirements on promoting the "Innovation Points System," the Shanghai Branch of the People's Bank of China, the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission, the Shanghai Regulatory Bureau of the State Financial Regulatory Commission, the Shanghai Municipal Financial Services Office, and the Shanghai Municipal Finance Bureau jointly issued the "Notice on Launching the 'Shanghai Science and Technology Points Loan' Special Business" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"). The Notice encourages financial institutions in Shanghai to use the "Shanghai Science and Technology Points" as an important basis for evaluating enterprises' innovation capabilities and to issue loans to local enterprises under the premise of controllable risk. According to reports from the Financial Times, the Shanghai branches of ICBC, CCB, SPD Bank, and Bank of Communications have already launched "Shanghai Science and Technology Points Loans," while the Agricultural Bank of China's Shanghai branch and others have introduced related products based on the "Shanghai Science and Technology Points."
A Shanghai-based pharmaceutical research company is a long-established high-tech enterprise and a specialized and innovative SME, deeply rooted in the field of biopharmaceutical manufacturing. It possesses numerous core technology patents and focuses on the research and development of improved new drugs. Relying on multiple high-end formulation key technology research platforms and a professional R&D team, the company has achieved significant results in several fields, including anti-tumor drugs, analgesics, cardiovascular drugs, and pediatric medications. After comprehensive evaluation, the company's "Shanghai Science and Technology Points" score is above 80, demonstrating strong R&D capabilities and innovation. Upon learning of its financing needs, the Shanghai Zhangjiang branch of Bank of Communications quickly launched the "Bank of Communications Shanghai Science and Technology Points Loan" exclusive service channel. This exclusive service plan uses the "Shanghai Science and Technology Points" as the core evaluation criterion, combined with dimensions such as the company's industry sector, technological barriers, and financial status, to construct a differentiated credit granting model. It breaks through the traditional reliance on collateral in lending, providing comprehensive financial support to asset-light, high-growth technology companies through "points-based credit enhancement, credit limit increases, and preferential interest rates." Bank of Communications Shanghai Zhangjiang Branch recently provided a credit line of 30 million yuan to the company by conducting a dual assessment based on the "Shanghai Science and Technology Points" and the bank's internal evaluation standards, which accurately quantifies the company's science and technology innovation attributes and effectively alleviates its operating capital pressure.
"With the launch of the 'Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Points Loan,' our loan limit has increased to 2.8 million yuan, which will allow our company to develop faster and better," said a representative from Shanghai Guangjiang Environmental Art Co., Ltd. The company has been cooperating with the Shanghai branch of China Construction Bank since 2023, when the "Shanxin Loan" program expanded its coverage to high-tech enterprises. Calculations showed that they could obtain over 1 million yuan in credit loans. This time, the Shanghai branch of China Construction Bank, based on the value stream evaluation of the bank's science and technology innovation evaluation system and the evaluation results of Shanghai's "Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Points," innovated diversified credit enhancement methods, focusing on factors such as talent, technology, capital, and market access. This further addresses the problem of insufficient information and credit accumulation and unmet financing needs of small and micro-sized science and technology enterprises, and can also provide certain loan support to technology-based enterprises with limited revenue during their growth stage, better matching the loan needs of various types of small and micro-sized technology enterprises.
The notice points out that financial institutions can establish exclusive "Shanghai Science and Technology Points Loan" products based on their own circumstances, highlighting the following characteristics: First, comprehensively strengthen the application of the "Shanghai Science and Technology Points" evaluation results, providing differentiated arrangements such as increased loan amounts, extended loan terms, and reduced loan interest rates to enterprises ranking high in the "Shanghai Science and Technology Points" rankings. Second, flexibly adopt diversified "Shanghai Science and Technology Points Loan" business operation models, encouraging qualified and willing financial institutions to deepen the design and research of "Shanghai Science and Technology Points Loan" products based on the "Shanghai Science and Technology Points" evaluation model under safe and controllable conditions, and encouraging the display of "Shanghai Science and Technology Points Loan" products and preliminary credit assessment results on the "Science and Technology Innovation Online" platform. Third, enrich the "Shanghai Science and Technology Points Loan" product system, innovating "Shanghai Science and Technology Points Loan" products around serving the three leading industries, new tracks and future key industries, industrial parks with concentrated science and technology resources, and key industrial chains and supply chains of new industrialization, increasing the supply of products for different scenarios. Fourth, improve the convenience of "Shanghai Science and Technology Points Loan" business, strengthen the application of digital technology, optimize the application and processing procedures of "Shanghai Science and Technology Points Loan" business, and improve loan approval efficiency. Fifth, we will strengthen the implementation of the work, enhance internal resource support, promote the business, raise awareness of the "Shanghai Science and Technology Points Loan" business, and accelerate its implementation.
Next, relevant departments of the Shanghai Branch of the People's Bank of China will establish a joint working mechanism, strengthen policy coordination, make overall use of supportive policies such as monetary credit and financing guarantees, strengthen incentive and constraint mechanisms, guide financial institutions to innovate and launch the "Shanghai Science and Technology Points Loan" product, and promote the expansion of the "Shanghai Science and Technology Points Loan" business.
