If science and technology are prosperous, the nation will be prosperous, and if science and technology are strong, the country will be strong. How to make the "flower of science and technology" bloom more gorgeously?
A document jointly issued by the People's Bank of China and other seven departments recently clarified for the first time the "construction drawings" of science and technology finance. The "Work Plan on Doing a Solid Job in Science and Technology Finance" proposes to "strengthen the construction of basic systems, improve the incentive and restraint mechanism" and "provide full-chain and full-life cycle financial services for the scientific and technological innovation activities of various innovative subjects", and point out the direction for the financial "living water" to water scientific and technological innovation.
Science and technology finance is finance that supports scientific and technological innovation. The Central Financial Work Conference held in 2023 proposed to do a good job in five major articles, with science and technology finance ranking first.
Why is fintech so important?
At present, the scientific and technological revolution and the great power game are intertwined, and the high-tech field has become the forefront and main battlefield of international competition. Conquer key core technologies, cultivate strategic emerging industries and future industries, and transform traditional industrial technologies...... Every key area of scientific and technological innovation urgently needs financial guarantee and financial efforts.
Over the years, the financial sector has been working hard to support scientific and technological innovation.
Banks have set up "science and technology financial centers" and "science and technology branches", direct financing channels such as the Growth Enterprise Market, the Science and Technology Innovation Board, and the Beijing Stock Exchange have been expanding, and government guidance funds have risen rapidly...... It can be said that the mainland's financial system has formed a consensus to support scientific and technological innovation.
A set of data is the most convincing: in the past five years, the balance of medium and long-term loans in the high-tech manufacturing industry has maintained an average annual growth rate of more than 30%; The loan rate of technology-based SMEs increased from 14% to 47%; A total of 800 billion yuan of science and technology innovation bills have been issued; More than 1,700 specialized and special new enterprises have been listed on the A-share market; The scale of venture capital fund management reached 3 trillion yuan......
Even so, there are still many science and technology enterprises "crying thirst", and some financial institutions are "shouting difficulties". The difficulties and pain points that need to be solved in science and technology finance are still prominent.
An important reason is that scientific and technological innovation is often high-investment, high-risk, and long-term, and the needs of technology enterprises are different at different life cycle stages, and the mainland financial system has not yet been able to provide matching and suitable financial services and products.
This time, seven departments, including the People's Bank of China, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Administration of Financial Regulation, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, jointly issued a work plan, put forward a series of targeted work measures, and the "construction drawings" for overcoming difficulties are clear at a glance.
"Angel Investment-Venture Capital-Private Equity Investment-Bank Loans-Capital Market Financing", the program depicts a diversified relay financial service picture for science and technology finance.
Large, medium and small banks have developed in a differentiated manner, with multi-level support from various sectors of the capital market, strengthened cooperation with securities, financing guarantees, insurance and other institutions, and pooled resources from local science and technology financial alliances...... It is foreseeable that the ecosystem of science and technology finance will become more and more rich and perfect, and promote the sustainable and healthy development of science and technology finance.
There are macro visions, but also concrete initiatives.
Establish an exclusive organizational structure and risk control mechanism for science and technology finance, and improve internal systems such as performance appraisal and due diligence exemption...... If financial institutions can implement these policy arrangements in the plan, technology-based SMEs can look forward to risk assessment models that are suitable for themselves, "tailor-made" technology financial products, and "personal service" technology and finance teams.
How to support the "blossoming of science and technology" to bear "industrial fruits"? The "Three Sessions on Science and Technology" held not long ago emphasized that it is necessary to do a good job in science and technology finance, and guide financial capital to invest early, small, long-term, and hard science and technology.
This means that financial support for technology-based companies needs to be more inclusive and sustainable. Whether it is to further promote the innovation pilot of the regional equity market, or to enrich the funding sources and exit channels of venture capital funds, many of the measures proposed in the plan are aimed at channeling patient and longer-term capital to seed-stage and start-up technology-based enterprises. At the same time, in the process of promoting the transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements, the financial system is also achieving its own high-quality development in industrial transformation and upgrading.
Reform and innovation will never stop, and the financial "living water" will be rushing at an accelerated pace. It is expected that with the strong support of science and technology finance, the fertile soil of science and technology innovation will bloom into a gorgeous "flower of science and technology", injecting inexhaustible momentum into the high-quality development of China's economy.
Curator: Chen Fang
Reporter: Wu Yu
Editor: Miao Xiayang
Produced by Xinhua News Agency