OREANDA-NEWS. November 16, 2011. As a responsible large commercial bank, Agricultural Bank of China Limited (ABC) has been taking the cultural industry as one of its strategic focuses for financial services by doing its utmost to promote the cultural restructuring innovation, the adjusting and upgrading of industrial structure, and supporting such specific cultural industries as press and publication, as well as radio and television, which has achieved impressive results. As at the end of this September, ABC's loan balance to culture-related industries reached RMB47.2 billion, including that to the large live-action show Impression Liu Sanjie directed by Zhang Yimou and Impression Lijiang performed in the world's highest altitude live-action theater, reported the press-centre of ABC.

In recent years, to implement the Cultural Industry Promotion Plan and the Guidelines on Financial Support for Cultural Industry Promotion and Development, ABC has provided comprehensive, efficient and quality financial products for cultural undertakings and industry and helped cultural enterprises' development, by giving full play to its comprehensive advantages in funds and network, innovating financial products and exploring financial service modes in cultural field.

In August 2010, ABC established comprehensive strategic partnership with the Ministry of Culture, becoming one of the latter's cooperative banks in the "credit application and review system for cultural enterprises". Its overall financial services for cultural industry were thereby promoted. At the beginning of this year, ABC signed an overall cooperation agreement with the General Administration of Press and Publication to support the press and publication industry in implementing key projects and group development. In December, 2009, ABC signed an overall strategic cooperation agreement with the Xinhua News Agency to support in the construction of "Xinhua 08" and other key projects.

ABC branches and subsidiaries had taken active measures to improve communication and deepen cooperation with local cultural authorities, press and publication institutions. As at the end of this September, 37 ABC tier-1 branches mostly established cooperation with local cultural departments (bureaus), among which 15 tier-1 branches signed overall cooperation agreements and intent credit-granting agreements with or had provided financial services for local cultural authorities.

Meanwhile, ABC tier-1 branches are actively carrying out business cooperation with local institutions of press and publication, and radio and television. In particular, those branches are supporting the following cultural enterprises in their rapider development: Hebei TV, Xinjiang TV, Chongqing Broadcasting Group, Hunan TV &Broadcast Intermediately Co., Ltd., Guangdong Broadcasting and TV Network Cooperation,and the Nationalities Publishing House of Yunnan.

Given that the cultural and creative industry has become an important pillar of Beijing's economy, ABC Beijing Branch has taken the initiative to get involved with cultural enterprises and projects. For example, Beijing Branch has joint hands with and supported in the growth of a large number of cultural enterprises such as China ACG Group Inc., Beijing Youth, and Beijing Jangho Curtain Wall Co., Ltd. Besides, according to its cooperation agreement with Beijing Promotion Center of Cultural and Creative Industry, Beijing Branch will grant a credit line of RMB20.0 billion every year to the capital's cultural and creative industry to support the construction of quality enterprises and project clusters in such industry.

In recent years, ABC Xiamen Branch has also chosen eight fields of the cultural industry as its service focuses as follows: animation and online games, television and film, creative designing, antique and works of art, recreation, printing and replication, cultural tourism, and Internet content service and new media. It will develop special financial products to support quality cultural enterprises. At present, Xiamen Branch has cooperated with Xiamen International Book Center (XIBC) and Xiamen Sanle Piano by providing all-round financial services.

The Sixth Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee of CPC specified the direction of the cultural industry of China in the days to come. According to persons in charge of ABC, taking the cultural industry as the whole bank's strategically new industry, ABC will accordingly strengthen its financial support for this industry by assisting with the development of backbone cultural enterprises and advantageous projects and provide greater financial support for small and medium cultural enterprises, so as to contribute more to the great development of the overall cultural industry of China.