Situated in the central part of Zhejiang province, Taizhou is between Ningbo in the north and Wenzhou in the south, and is a key component of Ningbo metropolitan area.

Taizhou is famous for its small and micro business. The city has six million residents, among which 500,000 are working in business, and 400,000 are involved with small and micro enterprises.

In December 2015, Taizhou was approved as a national pilot area for small and micro financial service reform and innovation. With years of development, Taizhou has explored a nationally leading “Taizhou pattern” of financial service for small and micro enterprises. “We should expand the range and depth of financial services for the healthy development of small and micro enterprises,” Dong Guibo, deputy mayor of Taizhou, said.

A small and micro enterprises’ financing service center in Taizhou. [Photo/WeChat account: wxtz576]

Financial service brings benefits and convenience

Taizhou’s flexible private economic system makes the city an important industrial production and export base in China, nurturing a large number of small and micro enterprises and accounting for more than 99 percent of the city’s whole enterprises.

For a long time, small and micro enterprises faced problems regarding financing, low efficiency and competitiveness. Against this background, the Taizhou small and micro enterprise financial service reform and innovation pilot area was set up in December 2015. It later became a national pilot area.

“Setting up the national small and micro financial service reform and innovation pilot area is a good opportunity for Taizhou in developing financial services for small and micro enterprises,” said a responsible person from Taizhou financial office. Since Taizhou was approved as a pilot area, it has fully promoted inclusive small and micro enterprise financial services and expanded the number and range of financial service institutions.

Taizhou made many efforts to support the establishment of small-sized legal person financial institutions. There have been more than 230 such institutions established by state-owned banks and joint-stock commercial banks. Taizhou Bank, Zhejiang Tailong Commercial Bank and Zhejiang Mintai Commercial Bank have become special banks for the financial services of small and micro enterprises. Eight rural banks, 33 micro-loan companies and other new financial institutions also put their focus on servicing for agriculture-related affairs, individually-owned business, and small and micro companies.

“Taizhou has formed a system in which state-owned banks serve big and medium-sized enterprises, joint-stock banks serve medium and small enterprises, and city commercial banks and small financial institutions focus on serving small and micro enterprises,” said a responsible person of Taizhou financial office.