The China-UK SMEs Finance Forum was held in Beijing on 19 July, co-hosted by the PBC Finance Research Institute and the British Embassy in Beijing. PBC Deputy Governor Du Jinfu and Mr. Sebastian Wood, the British Ambassador to China, addressed the forum. Around 150 government officials and practitioners from Chinese and British companies, and international organizations such as the World Bank, attended the forum.
Deputy Governor Du Jinfu pointed out in recent years, under the framework of the China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue, the number of high-level dialogues and visits between China and UK on economic and financial issues increased notably, including comprehensive and in-depth communication on monetary policy, financial supervision and stability, and low-carbon economy development.
As an important part of the SMEs Credit System Construction and Application collaboration project jointly sponsored by the PBC Financial Research Institute and the British Embassy in Beijing, the forum will make a significant contribution to the research and development of new methods of improving SMEs access to finance.
Deputy Governor Du Jinfu also said that, financing difficulties are one of the barriers that constrain SMEs development. Such a problem became more prominent after the outbreak and spread of the international financial crisis. PBC together with other relevant departments have adopted vigorous measures in response.
As a result, SMEs share of new loans among all new corporate loans initiated by the financial institutions has increased. PBC will further study and release financial policies to support the development of SMEs on the basis of international experience and best practices, so as to push forward sustainable and healthy development of the national economy.
Mr. Sebastian Wood expressed in his speech that, as the global economy is recovering, the role of governments in the economy was reduced somewhat, allowing a new opportunity for the private sector to thrive. Mr. Sebastian Wood also introduced some supportive measures provided to SMEs by the British Government, and expressed his willingness and intention to have closer cooperation with China in the financial sector under the framework of the China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue.
Guest speakers shared their perspectives on different subjects at the forum, including an overview of SMEs finance, credit reference system construction, credit evaluation, credit guarantee system and financial innovations. Other participants also expressed their views and opinions on these matters as well.
Currently, under the mechanism of the China-UK Economic and Finance Dialogue, the PBC Finance Research Institute and the British Embassy in Beijing are rolling out three new research programs, namely, the "Corporate Bond Market Development", the "SMEs Credit System Construction", and the "Legal Framework for Non-banking Lenders". All works related to these programs have been proceeding smoothly, and have achieved phased results in some areas.
