Shanghai is planning to encourage commercial banks to expand their dedicated credit lines for specialized and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises, or SMEs to 400 billion yuan ($55 billion) – with over 200 billion yuan allocated for credit loans.

The initiative aims to foster SMEs producing unique and cutting-edge products.

The announcement was made during the 2024 Conference on the Development of Specialized and Innovative SMEs, held in Shanghai from Dec 1 to 3.

As a national leader in developing such businesses, Shanghai began cultivating specialized and innovative enterprises in 2011, becoming the first city in China to do so.

Today, the city is home to over 11,466 specialized and innovative SMEs, including 857 recognized as national-level "little giants" — small and medium-sized enterprises recognized for their specialized expertise and innovation.

These Shanghai little giants boast an average revenue of 160 million yuan, with more than 4,000 achieving annual net profit growth of over 20 percent.

Shanghai is also the first Chinese city to have more than 10,000 specialized and innovative enterprises.

In recent years, Shanghai-based companies have earned top honors at the World Intellectual Property Organization Global Awards.

In fact, about 40 percent of the 444 Shanghai-based companies listed on China's A-share market are specialized and innovative SMEs.

Source: Jiefang Daily