Shanghai offers more loans for startups, SMEs

Shanghai has pledged further policy support for startups as well as small and micro enterprises as part of coordinated initiatives to encourage high-quality economic development.

The requirements and upper limits for secured loans for city entrepreneurs in pre-startup stages, as well as individual or group startups, have been loosened, according to the latest joint directive from the Shanghai Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, Shanghai Finance Bureau, and the Shanghai branch of the People's Bank of China.

The upper limit of secured loans for group startups has been raised to 4 million yuan (US$636,267) from 3 million yuan, and for those in the strategic and pillar industries, the limit has been set at 5 million yuan.

Individuals can apply for a maximum of 500,000 yuan of unsecured loans for startups of up to three years, while for those who have not yet registered a startup, a maximum loan of 200,000 yuan for up to one year is also available.

Young entrepreneurs and students aged below 35 are also allowed to apply for secured loans for their startups even if they have not yet paid off other types of loans, such as consumer loans.

A total of 580 secured loans have been offered for the city's startups with a total amount of 1.33 billion yuan since the beginning of this year, according to the Shanghai Human Resources and Social Security Bureau.

A series of subsidies have also been optimized such as special subsidies for first-time entrepreneurs, for incubation space hosting startups, and target subsidies for those taking part in entrepreneurship competitions.

Online applications can be accessed at the portal of the city's human resources and social security bureau at https://zzjb.rsj.sh.gov.cn/zzjbdl/jsp/login.html.