OREANDA-NEWS. October 25, 2011. ICBC has recently launched the "Small Convenient Loan" to address the "bottleneck" of micro-enterprises looking for capital to grow business. Micro-enterprises welcome this new loan service of ICBC. Since the launch of the service in Guangdong in early August, within 50 days ICBC has disbursed RMB 2.4 billion of "Small Convenient Loan" to 1,571 micro-enterprises in Guangdong, meaning over RMB 1.5 million to each micro-enterprise on average, reported the press-centre of ICBC.

"Small Convenient Loan" is an ICBC loan product designed for micro-enterprises. When compared to conventional small business loans, a borrower of "Small Convenient Loan" does not need to produce guarantee. ICBC uses the borrower's qualification, repayment wish, performance of contract, net assets as the criteria to release the loan instead of the collateral/pledge provided. This means micro-enterprises with good business operation but lack of collateral/pledge can access bank loan. "Small Convenient Loan" is more efficient since there is no need to go over the procedures of collateral/pledge or guarantee. Loan can be approved within one banking day shortest. To micro-enterprises, "Small Convenient Loan" is more suitable for "small, frequent, urgent" working capital needed for smooth operation since it is capped at RMB 2 million with a tenure under 7 months in one loan.

Industry insiders said that the great number of private small and micro-enterprises in China, especially the large assembly of micro-enterprises active in the special markets and industry clusters in Guangdong and other areas, is a "blue sea" waiting for banks to touch. Through the launch of innovative loan product, ICBC uses small cash loan to open this market and extend the services to small and micro-enterprises. It also promotes economic restructuring and creates job opportunities for individuals.

An ICBC executive said, ICBC combines personalized services and intensive management for customized delivery of loan services, featuring tailored solutions for small and micro-enterprises in different special markets and industry clusters. Growth of "Small Convenient Loan" customers has been very impressive as a result. In the next step, ICBC will further improve the financial services to small and micro enterprises. Through innovative financial products and services, ICBC aims to use "small" pan to bake "big" cake, use "small" services to create "big" market.