24 provincial banks pledge support for Yimeng revolutionary base area
A symposium on financial support for the revitalization of the Yimeng revolutionary base area opened in Linyi, East China's Shandong province, on Nov 3, bringing together four provincial financial regulators and 24 provincial-level banks — an unprecedented lineup for the city.
The delegation came not for inspection but to deepen their presence in Linyi: a targeted injection of provincial financial resources to support the old revolutionary area's development.
Linyi has long been distinctive in Shandong's urban landscape. It is a red land where the Yimeng Spirit endures and where the Beihai Bank, an early People's bank founded in the revolutionary years, originated, giving the city a natural affinity with finance. It is also a fast-growing economy with a population of over 10 million, more than one million market entities and a trade and logistics base measured in trillions of yuan.
The city now has 43 banks, 72 insurance companies and 47 securities and futures institutions. Deposits stand at 1.4 trillion yuan and loans at 1.2 trillion yuan, making Linyi the first city in a Chinese revolutionary base area and the fourth in Shandong to exceed one trillion yuan in both. Holding a national pilot zone for financial reform and a central government-supported demonstration zone for inclusive finance, the city has launched more than 340 local financial products.
"Linyi does not lack good projects; what it lacks is matching funds. The old area does not lack good companies; what it lacks is financial companionship," said Zhang Baoliang, Party secretary of the city, at the symposium.
The cooperation is expected to bring four outcomes: stronger support for industrial upgrading along the city's signature industry chains; accelerated investment in transport, urban renewal, water conservancy and public facilities as Linyi strives to join the trillion-yuan city club; expanded inclusive, green and elderly care finance covering small businesses, individual merchants, rural industries and green development; and a more stable financial ecosystem under provincial supervision.
The participating institutions also visited Linyi Trade City, and said they will increase support for trade and logistics, cross-border e-commerce and opening-up.
Editor：韩蒙蒙