Domestic and foreign banks in China are competing to offer services and products to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

 

Ma Li, vice-president of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (SPDB), said her bank has switched its focus from large enterprises to SMEs.

 

"Small- and medium-sized enterprises are becoming our major clients," she said.

 

"Establishing a banking relationship with SMEs is an integrated part of the strategic planning for SPDB," she added. "We are concentrating our efforts on designing services and products that are tailormade to meet their specific demands."

 

Zhang Yaolin, executive vice-president of SPDB, said SMEs could play a crucial role in the lender's asset and income structure adjustment. He said products specifically designed for SMEs had already been launched and more were in the pipeline. He refused to disclose details.

 

In China, SMEs, which usually have a trade volume of less than 300 million yuan (US$37.5 million) a year, contribute about 60 percent of the country's gross domestic product and employ 75 percent of the nation's workers.

 

That's according to statistics from the National Development and Reform Commission.

 

In recent years, more and more banks have attached greater importance to SMEs. This is partly because of the growing difficulty securing big corporate clients and partly due to the aim of enhancing income through fees, rather than by collecting interest.

 

Several banks have teamed up with China's Internet auctioneer flagship Alibaba Group, which has about 12 million SMEs as members.

 

Recently Alibaba teamed up with SPDB to promote the development of e-commerce and e-banking.

 

"The two firms will form a long-term strategic partnership in e-commerce sectors that cover B2B, B2C and C2C," said Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba Group, at a ceremony marking the cooperation last week.

 

The partnership will be in fund settlement and management, resource sharing, marketing, product innovation and providing financial services for SMEs, he added.

 

Earlier last month, the online auctioneer and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) signed a cooperation deal for an expansion of the two companies' existing online payment partnership which was formed a year ago.

 

Agricultural Bank of China also reached a deal with Alibaba in March to provide an online payment service, saying SMEs have become important clients of the lender.

 

China's SMEs are also an important part of global industry.

 

In 2005, roughly 68 percent of China's export turnover involved SMEs, especially in the clothing, handicraft and toy sectors.

 

In the country's eastern coastal areas, many export-oriented SMEs have formed industrial clusters, which make it easier for international firms to outsource production.

 

(China Daily June 21, 2006)