New Shanghai policies aim to spur high-quality SME growth

Shanghai issued a batch of new policies on Wednesday to support the high-quality growth of small and medium-sized enterprises, covering finance, services and tech facilitation.

The new policies are divided into six categories; and the full Chinese text can be found on the official government Website. Here are some highlights:

Support innovation among SMEs

• Encouraging SMEs to apply for city-level technology centers, so that the total number will exceed 1,000;
• Lowering the threshold for support regarding technological transformation for SMEs with a revenue of at least 10 million yuan (US$1.43 million), down from the previous 20-million-yuan threshold;
• Encouraging district-level rewards for SMEs when their industrial output surpasses 1 billion yuan, 5 billion yuan and 10 billion yuan for the first time;
• Offering research and development funds of up to 500,000 yuan for qualified high-tech SMEs;
• Facilitating the development of 30 green factories and five zero-carbon factories;
• Providing training for the annual cultivation of 200 high-level professionals among SMEs.

Support digitalization of SMEs

• Distributing "AI algorithms coupons" to SMEs making use of the city's resources to innovate on core algorithms and model development by refunding up to 20 percent of the contract value;
• Distributing "digital diagnosis coupons" to encourage SMEs to evaluate their industrial Internet development;
• Developing no less than 300 SMEs in the digital economy, 30 branded data products, and 20 niche market service suppliers;
• Facilitating 250,000 SMEs to join the industrial cloud network.

Create an ecosystem for integrated development of enterprises

• Hosting "more than one hundred" matchmaking events to connect enterprises of all sizes;
• Nurturing around 10 city-level featured SME industrial clusters, and another five state-level clusters.

Strengthen financing services for SMEs

• Facilitating seamless loan resumption services, with inclusive loans expected to reach 1.1 trillion yuan by the end of 2023, saving 10 billion yuan for enterprises;
• Maintaining the guarantee rate at no more than 1 percent;
• Supporting SMEs to carry out restructuring and equity financing.

Beef up relief efforts for troubled SMEs

• Extending the temporary lowered social insurance premium policies, including unemployment and work-related injuries, for SMEs;
• Providing tailored services at the door step of troubled SMEs.

Enhance precise services for SMEs

• Launching campaigns to call for better services for SMEs;
• Facilitating intellectual property rights protection for new technologies and products developed by SMEs;
• Strengthening government coordination and carrying out government research tailored for improving services for SMEs;
• Offering more knowledge sharing programs on how to avoid bad loans and how to best deploy polices.

Wang Yanlin / SHINE

Shanghai is home to more than 3.27 million business entities, 93.4 percent of which are private companies or registered by individuals, according to the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Informatization, the local industry regulator.

The city's SMEs with annual revenues of more than 20 million yuan achieved an industrial output of 2 trillion yuan in 2022, accounting for 49 percent of the city's total.

Wu Jincheng, director of the commission, said SMEs are important to stimulate economic growth, stabilize employment, safeguard people's livehood, serve as key links in supply chain, and support the new development mode for Shanghai.

The new policies are applicable for foreign-invested SMEs as well, the commission said.