The National Financial Supervisory Management General Administration's Shanghai Supervisory Bureau recently issued the "Notification on Implementing the 'Financing Smooth Operation Project' to Further Support the High-Quality Economic and Financial Development of Shanghai", which continues to optimize high-quality financial services to further cultivate a market-oriented, rule-of-law, international top-tier business environment in Shanghai. The "Notification" focuses on the political and people-oriented nature of financial services, launching sixteen practical and effective policy measures across five major areas, aimed at vigorously optimizing the business environment and fully boosting Shanghai's high-quality economic and financial development, enhancing the competitiveness and influence of Shanghai as an international financial center. Details follow:

First, to facilitate financing channels and enhance the accessibility of financial services. The "Notification" states that Shanghai will continue to expand the scale of inclusive loans for small and micro enterprises, maintain the quality and efficiency of inclusive loans, and strive to exceed a balance of RMB 1.3 trillion in inclusive small and micro enterprise loans by the end of 2024. It will continue to advance the "thousands of enterprises, tens of thousands of households" first-loan project, exploring a progressive financial service path from "non-loan clients" to "first-loan clients" to "partner clients", aiming to add more than 20,000 first-loan clients in the city in 2024. It explores the specialized mechanisms of partner banks (insurance), establishing a "credit plus" comprehensive financial service model. It will establish and perfect a long-term mechanism for relief and problem-solving, aiming to cumulatively deliver more than RMB 500 billion in relief financing in the city in 2024. Simultaneously, it uses a variety of policy tools to reduce the comprehensive cost of financing, maximizing fee reductions and benefits to the public.

Second, to optimize financing methods and enhance the convenience of financial services. The "Notification" states that Shanghai will establish a rapid-response enterprise financing matchmaking service mechanism, continually optimize the loan renewal mechanism, aiming to seamlessly renew loans totaling more than RMB 1 trillion in 2024, significantly improving the efficiency of bank institutions in handling and renewing loans. Simultaneously, it will pilot the construction of an inclusive finance digital comprehensive service platform, advancing the integration of the Shanghai "Insurance Code" platform with the Medical Insurance and other departments, aiming for the Shanghai "Insurance Code" platform to add more than RMB 200 billion in new risk insurance coverage from inclusive insurance products.

Third, to focus on serving real economies, enhancing the strategic nature of financial services. The "Notification" states that Shanghai will deepen industry-finance integration, create a supply chain finance demonstration zone, and achieve full coverage of financial services for significant industry chains in Shanghai in 2024, serving more than 25,000 small and micro enterprises on the chain. It will build a science and technology finance demonstration zone, implement a gradient cultivation of Shanghai's bank science and technology branches, adding more than ten new science and technology branches in 2024. It will build a linked financial service support system of "shares, loans, bonds, insurance", aiming for a year-over-year increase of more than 25% in science and technology enterprise loan balances in 2024, surpassing RMB 1.5 trillion, with intellectual property pledge loan balances reaching around RMB 200 billion. Deepening green finance development, supporting the establishment of green (sub-) branches, innovating finance services based on carbon-inclusive emission reductions, enhancing financial support for green transformation, promoting ESG information disclosure, and advancing the implementation of environmental pollution liability insurance mechanisms in Pudong New Area, aiming for a city-wide green financing balance exceeding RMB 1.5 trillion in 2024, completing the "14th Five-Year Plan" objectives ahead of schedule.

Fourth, to advance collaborative efforts, enhancing the safety of financial services. The "Notification" states that Shanghai will build an inclusive insurance development mechanism, aiming for Shanghai's individual pension insurance products to achieve around RMB 1 billion in premium income in 2024, with the number of commercial health insurance policies purchased using personal medical insurance account balances reaching over 100,000. It will deepen the bank-insurance collaboration mechanism, aiming for a significant increase within the year in government financing guarantee business, fully utilizing government financing guarantee policy benefits. It will significantly intensify efforts to combat illegal financial activities, achieving preemptive prevention, comprehensive management, and combined treatment of symptoms and root causes, deepening the special action for compliance, foundational strength, and safety.

Fifth, to proactively serve society, enhancing the people-oriented nature of financial services. The "Notification" emphasizes a people-centered value orientation, guiding Shanghai financial institutions to actively integrate into social governance, relying on Party-building work to strengthen the social responsibility of financial services, shifting from "passive" to "proactive" integration. It encourages financial institutions to leverage their branch advantages, extending financial services to fields such as enterprise operations, innovation and entrepreneurship, financial education, and social governance, providing diversified services such as government affairs services, public services, financial safety propaganda, and convenience services for the public, fully demonstrating the political, people-oriented, and inclusive nature of financial services.

Moving forward, the National Financial Supervisory Management General Administration's Shanghai Supervisory Bureau will organize financial institutions within its jurisdiction to jointly implement the "Financing Smooth Operation Project's" sixteen policy measures, comprehensively coordinate the advancement of the "Five Major Financial Articles", continue to optimize the business environment, deeply serve the construction of Shanghai's "five centers", and inject financial strength into enhancing Shanghai's urban energy level and core competitiveness.