OREANDA-NEWS. July 28, 2011. Zhang Liang, the assistant to Chairman (in charge of financial and accounting) of Xinjiang Yili Bakouxiang Industry Co., Ltd ("Bakouxiang"), was fully occupied to work with production department on the production expansion in order to cater for the increasing orders nationwide. Today, Bakouxiang, a small enterprise located at the Xinjiang Yili Qabqal, is the largest Muslim meat processor in Northwest China, reported the press-centre of ICBC.

The snowflake beef produced by the company has been exported overseas besides capturing a presence in Beijing and other big cities in China. Yet Bakouxiang nearly closed down just a few years ago due to severe shortage of working capital. At that time, ICBC saw the potential of Bakouxiang and extended a loan of RMB 8 million immediately. This timely loan addressed the immediate need of this company. Bakouxiang soon started production again and business was recovered. Subsequently, ICBC supported the company to expand production and produce high-end products, providing more than RMB 60 million in trade finance loan since 2009. Since then, Bakouxiang moves forward at an impressive pace under the support of ICBC loans.

Bakouxiang is an epitome of ICBC in helping Xinjiang small enterprises loom large. According to an executive with ICBC, small enterprises in Xinjiang have grown rapidly after the opening of the Seminar on Xinjiang Development hosted by the central government. Their thriving growth has played an increasingly important role in driving the economy of ethnic minority area and providing job opportunities for the local people. It also brings a lot of business opportunities for the banks. In view of this, ICBC steps up its support to the growth of the small businesses in Xinjiang, helping them move forward faster and better. From early 2010 till end of May this year, ICBC has disbursed nearly RMB 4.4 billion in loan to 600+ small enterprises in Xinjiang.

As part of a comprehensive scheme in providing financial services to small enterprises in Xinjiang, ICBC has established 14 small enterprise financial centers covering all tier-2 branches in an effort to better serve the Xinjiang small enterprises. Besides, ICBC lends support to local small enterprises by relaxing rules on credit line and loosening guarantee conditions so that many tier-2 branches can release loans to small enterprises. Branches and sub-branches are also allowed to offer loans to small enterprises. To create a favorable environment for small business owners in Xinjiang, more monetary resources are allocated to meet their funding needs, more loans are offered to target recipients, and more channels are opened for them to apply for loan.