The Yangquan New and High-Tech Industrial Development Zone has launched innovative financial offerings like "Innovation Credit Loans" and "Tech Empowerment Special Loans" to address the ongoing challenges of difficult and costly financing for tech enterprises.

These initiatives are designed to channel financial resources into enterprises, enabling them to convert innovation credits into substantial financial support, according to a local official.

In February 2023, the zone was designated as a pilot unit for the national "Enterprise Innovation Credit System". Since then, it has provided targeted support to enterprises with high innovation scores and strong capabilities.

A prime example of this initiative is Shanxi Lanbang Environmental Technology Co, a tech enterprise specializing in air pollution and industrial dust control. "Through the innovation credit 'profile', Lanbang achieved an innovation score of 75, qualifying for the loan," explained Yuwen Haonan, deputy director of the zone's Scientific and Technological Innovation Center.

The center coordinated with China Construction Bank and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to explain loan policies to the company, ultimately facilitating a 4.8-million-yuan ($660,250) loan to support the company's innovative growth.

The "Tech Empowerment Special Loan" uses a company's innovation credits as a key evaluation criterion for financial institutions' credit decisions. The credit limit is dynamically adjusted based on these credits, effectively lowering the financing threshold and injecting innovative momentum into tech enterprises.

The zone plans to further enhance the application of the "Enterprise Innovation Credit System, continuously refining the evaluation framework and expanding application scenarios.