Beijing is creating a multipronged financial system to improve business operating entities' sense of gain and boost faith in market prospects.

Focusing on the five major areas of technological innovation, green transformation, inclusive finance, elder care, and digital economy, financial institutions are injecting vigor into the local economy and promoting the city's high-quality development.

With plans to build a sci-tech financial reform experimental zone at the Zhongguancun National Innovation Demonstration Zone given the green light in May 2023, Beijing became the first city to host a national-level financial reform zone, according to the Beijing Business Environment Development Report (2019-24).

The Zhongguancun Sci-Tech Innovation Financial Service Center is pioneering financial products and services. It has launched customized solutions such as loans for mergers and acquisitions, services for tech professionals, and equity subscription, addressing the funding needs of tech companies.

Through a Zhongguancun key technology innovation support program for tech-based small and micro businesses, financial subsidies are provided to startups in areas such as next-generation information technology and healthcare, whose research and development expenditure exceeds 1 million yuan ($137,485). By the end of 2024, nearly 4,000 tech-based small and micro enterprises had been supported in their critical technology innovations.

Another example of technological finance is the "Zhongguancun sci-tech financial products supermarket" platform, which was established in July 2023. It integrates functions such as product information disclosure, bank-enterprise financing matchmaking, and monetary policy support, providing tech companies with convenient access to an array of financial products.

Currently, it features nearly 70 products from 30 banks and has aided more than 2,000 loans to tech companies, totaling 15 billion yuan.

The report shows that more than 90 percent of banks in Beijing have opened green channels for financial services for the city's key tech companies.

Local authorities have rolled out a series of policies to help the city become a global green finance center and sustainable finance hub, according to the report.

To this end, they have optimized green finance incentive mechanisms, including more than 120 financial institutions in Beijing — such as commercial banks, financial companies, financial leasing, auto finance, consumer finance, trust companies, and money brokerage companies.

Encouraged by the policies and mechanisms, more financial resources are flowing into green and low-carbon sectors, including green infrastructure upgrades, clean energy, energy conservation, environmental protection, and eco-friendly production.

Data from the report show that by the end of 2023, the balance of green loans in domestic and foreign currencies in the city reached 1.9 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28.2 percent, outpacing the overall loan growth rate by 15.2 percentage points. In the bond market, nonfinancial enterprises in Beijing issued green bonds worth 120.63 billion yuan in 2023, accounting for nearly 30 percent of the national issuance.

When it comes to inclusive finance, small-sized and micro businesses, private enterprises and rural projects received priority financial support, according to the report.

The Beijing branch of the People's Bank of China created a business matching system in December 2019, building a bridge for financing between banks and enterprises. It covers 55 domestic and foreign-invested banks with more than 4,500 banking service outlets, and has more than 300,000 key enterprises as users in Beijing.

To date, the system has assisted nearly 500,000 bank visits to enterprises, identified 41,000 effective financing needs, and achieved more than 200 billion yuan in financing, with 97 percent of the loans going to small and micro businesses.