Small businesses get help with 2.8 billion yuan in loans

According to the Shanxi Bureau of Small and Medium Enterprises, by the end of the first quarter of 2014, a special fund, aimed at supporting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), was set up in 10 cities and 53 counties. The fund has given loans of more than 2.83 billion yuan for MSMEs and effectively promoted the development of MSMEs in Shanxi.

MSMEs are often faced with difficulties in financing, as financing costs are very high. To solve this problem, the Shanxi Bureau of Small and Medium Enterprises and the Shanxi branch of China Construction Bank (CCB) launched, at the beginning of 2013, a joint project of special loans for MSMEs. The fund pool is partly sponsored by government, 10 times the money provided by CCB, and a guarantee-assistant fund, which is 5 percent of the loan amount. When an enterprise fails and cannot repay the loan, it can resort to the fund pool, which means the risk is shared by the government, bank and enterprises.

According to a recent report from the Shanxi Bureau of Small and Medium Enterprises, non-performing loans have not occurred. Instead, the overall quality of assets is satisfactory. Shanxi MSMEs have gained, from January to March, operating income of nearly 273.6 billion yuan, which is above the provincial average and an increase of 7.79 percent over last year.