The peak body for the Shanghai banking sector has unveiled a new initiative aimed at shoring up foreign trade and investment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Shanghai Banking Association (上海市银行同业公会) has just released “Shanghai Financial Services Initiative for the ‘Stabilisation of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment'” (上海银行业“稳外贸、稳外资”金融服务倡议书).
The Initiative was drafted by the Shanghai branches of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the China Construction Bank (CCB) and Bank of Communications (BOCOM), as well as the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and Citibank (China), under the guidance of the Shanghai banking regulator, and has been issued to all members of the municipal banking sector.
The Initiative calls for Shanghai banks to:
- Strengthen research and analysis of international economic conditions and industry trends, and promptly provide enterprises with targeted and specialised guidance and consulting;
- Helping enterprises to respond to trade risk, and researching and judging market trends;
- Raising industry self-discipline, increasing loan extension, driving coordination with enterprises, and raising the resilience of industry chains and supply chains;
- Expanding connections with government platforms including the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, the Shanghai branch of the China Export and Credit Insurance Cooperation, and the Shanghai Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Policy Financing Guarantee Fund (上海中小微企业政策性融资担保基金);
- Targeted support to enterprises for stabilisation of operations;
- Expanding financial support for new forms of international trade growth.
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