Dr. Chen Hongtian Attending the Special Seminar on "High-Quality Development - Focus Research For Supporting Enterprise Refinancing"

2020.07.28

Dr. Chen Hongtian, a member of the CPPCC National Committee, a Justice of the Peace appointed by the HKSAR, Chairman of Harmony Club and Chairman of Cheung Kei Group, attended a special seminar convened by the Shenzhen CPPCC on 21 July, 2020. The seminar was conducted at the Shenzhen branch of China Construction Bank, and is on the topic of "High-Quality Development - Focus Research For Supporting Enterprise Refinancing". Zhang Xiaoli, Vice-Chairperson of the Shenzhen CPPCC, attended the meeting and delivered a speech, while Cui Minrong, Director of the Shenzhen CPPCC Economic Committee, presided over the meeting.

Dr. Chen Hongtian giving a speech at the event.

Wang Ye, leader of the research team and head of the Shenzhen branch of China Construction Bank (CCB), first analysed the current pain points that privately-owned enterprises face in financing through actual data that CCB's Shenzhen Branch has amassed while serving their clients. Then, he introduced the findings of the research along with the relevant suggestions of the "Shenzhen Emergency Refinancing Financial Services Platform" on behalf of the Financial Support Group. Dr. Chen Hongtian, Li Wei, Xu Mingjin, Liu Zhixiong and other CPPCC members of all levels also spoke and shared their insights at the session.

It has always been a massive roadblock for businesses to obtain financing, along their development journey. The existing rollover loan policy of "getting new loans for repaying old ones" adds on the cost of financing, and further aggravates the risks that enterprises face in the process of financing; this policy has been widely criticised by many entrepreneurs. At the seminar, Dr. Chen Hongtian reiterated the need to fundamentally abolish the system and policy of "getting new loans for repaying old ones". He also suggested for an "Enterprise Refinancing Service Centre" to be established and led by the government, to reduce the cost of refinancing for enterprises significantly. This will put Premier Li Keqiang's call for the financial industry to serve the real economy, and to strongly support the development of small, medium, and micro-sized enterprises into practice.

Representatives from relevant government departments then took the floor to discuss the methods to improve and strengthen the emergency refinancing instruments for privately-owned enterprises. In her concluding remarks, Vice-Chairperson Zhang Xiaoli expressed her recognition for the findings of this research, and also gave positive remarks on the participants' suggestions. She pointed out the opportunities from the construction of Shenzhen's twin zones and the high quality platform of development should be seized; financial policies and management mechanisms should also be optimised, in line with the support from the authorities. This would in turn tap into the strengths of the market forces and the operational experiences of the parties involved, to support the growth and development of the real economy.

This special seminar forms the core research component of the key proposal entitled
On the Recommendation to Build a Demonstration Pilot Zone For High-Quality Development", led by the Municipal Party Committee Secretary Wang Weizhong. Prior to this event, the Financial Support Group had already visited the Guangzhou Enterprise Refinancing Service Centre in June for a research trip, to lay the groundwork for the promotion of the refinancing services to be offered to Shenzhen enterprises.

Zhuang Zhiyong, deputy director of the Shenzhen Municipal CPPCC Economic Committee; Jia Baoan, a second-level researcher of the authorities; Cai Peihui, a member of the National People's Congress; representatives from various government departments and enterprises, including the supervisor of the research team, members of Shenzhen Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau, theMunicipal Local Financial Supervision Bureau, the State-owned Assets Supervision & Administration Commission, the Finance Bureau, the Small & Medium Enterprises Service Bureau, the Real Estate Registration Centre, and the Shenzhen Credit Guarantee Group were in attendance at the event.