OREANDA-NEWS. March 07, 2013. ICBC continues extending credit to the advanced equipment manufacturing sector during the last few years. Besides considerably increasing efforts to support the growth of high-end equipment manufacturing sector (one of the strategic emerging industries), the Bank also supports the transformation and upgrade of traditional equipment manufacturing industry.

At the end of 2012, ICBC's total outstanding loans to China's advanced equipment manufacturing sector reached RMB 330.3 billion, a jump of more than 100% when compared with the figure at the end of 2009. ICBC loans have played a significant role in driving the change of economic growth pattern and transforming China from "a big manufacturing country" to "a manufacturing power".

China is a big manufacturing nation. The "12th Five-Year" Plan sets up goals for the restructuring and upgrade of manufacturing sector, especially companies engaging in advanced equipment manufacturing in order to achieve a change "from big to strong" in this sector. In 2009, ICBC set forth credit guidelines for equipment manufacturing industry. Priority is given to advanced equipment manufacturers with independent innovation, cutting-edge manufacturing technology, capable to provide supplementary services and playing a leading role in upgrading China's key sectors and large engineering projects.

That includes supporting high-end equipment manufacturing industry (one sector that China aims to nurture and grow) as well as helping traditional equipment manufacturing industry to transform and grow. By supporting technological restructuring projects for industrial transformation and upgrade, supply chain finance service is provided to the pacesetting companies and companies in the upstream and downstream. Full spectrums of financial services are offered for these companies to loom large.

In serving the high-end equipment manufacturing industry, ICBC offers services and solutions tailored to pacesetting aviation equipment manufacturers who require large amount of working capital to cover long production cycle and high asset/liability ratio. Using innovative loan approach, domestic buy-out factoring service is provided for their member companies to address their need of working capital. In serving the transformation and upgrade of traditional equipment manufacturing industry, ICBC actively supports these companies to use new technologies, new materials, new process, new equipment, helping them upgrade old products by enhancing R&D on new products, applying best technologies and adding values to the products. For example, ICBC builds partnership with many large advanced equipment manufacturers located in the Northeast China Old Industrial Bases (Shenyang Machine Tool Co. Ltd., Zhongwang Group, Shenyang Blower Works Group Corporation and Shenyang Yuanda Aluminum). The partnership has helped companies engaged in the manufacturing of traditional equipment to transform and upgrade.

On top of day-to-day banking services, ICBC also offers a wide range of financial services to advanced equipment manufacturing companies including bond underwriting, finance and leasing, cash management, corporate annuity and M&A loans. Derivative trading, FX trading are also provided to help them "go global". All these financial services provide strong support for these companies to spread their wings around the world.