Loans made easier for SMEs amid pandemic
Bank representatives sign agreements with the Putuo government to offer financial support to SMEs.
Small and medium-size companies (SMEs) in Putuo District should find it easier to get loans through a new platform to help them following the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Upgraded loan service platform Puhuidai 3.0, literally "generalized preferential loans," was launched by the Putuo District government on Tuesday.
Local companies can seek help on the platform, available on both website and app, with 24 local banks and other authorized loan companies offering suitable loan products and services.
An initial version of the Puhuidai platform was launched in January to gather government support for local enterprises after the COVID-19 outbreak, said Jiang Dongdong, Putuo’s director.
“It later became too popular especially among the small and medium-size enterprises who might face a rupture of the capital chain amid the pandemic,” Jiang said. The district government then upgraded the platform to invite major banks to cap the urgent demands of companies.
A total of 130 companies have received a total of 457 million yuan (US$69.6 million) in loans since the platform was launched. “It has become an effective measure to solve difficulties for the SMEs and develop innovative fundraising measures,” Jiang said.
The upgraded platform announced on Tuesday includes 24 banks, 11 regional financial organizations and 152 loan products. Some 175 offline sites can offer loan services across Putuo.
Jiang Dongdong, director of Putuo, introduces the Puhuidai 3.0 loan platform.
Ganglong Car Leasing, a service provider for the China International Import Expo, has received 2 million yuan in mortgage-free loans from the Shanghai branch of Rural Commercial Bank pithing a week after it sought help on the platform.
"We were short of funds after the COVID-19 outbreak when we were transforming over 500 internal-combustion-engine vehicles into new-energy as well as building additional charging stations," said Wu Hong, financial director of the company.
“We trust the platform released by the district government which helped us to get through the darkest period,” she added.
In another case, a Japanese food logistics company managed to get 5 million yuan in loans from the Bank of Communications through the platform.
The foreign service company has few assets in Shanghai, but the bank offered the loans after studying its credit condition with the help of the platform, said Liu Chunyan, director with the Putuo branch of Bank of Communications. The food company paid back the loans on time and returned to normal operations.
Thanks to the optimized business environment, Putuo’s fiscal revenue increased by 6.6 percent in November, ranking first among local districts, according to Jiang.
Over 40 companies have newly settled in Putuo despite the pandemic, including four with an anticipated annual tax revenue of over 100 million yuan.
Citywide, 23,000 local companies have been allowed to prolong their loans totaling 45 billion yuan as of the end of September.
Based on the city’s Government Online-Offline Shanghai system, the companies’ tax, social security and housing fund conditions are open to 18 local banks for them to offer bespoke financial services during the pandemic.
