China banking giant offers SME matchmaking

MANILA, Philippines - The Bank of China (BOC), one of the largest banks in the world, is giving thousands of local small and medium enterprises (SME) the opportunity to enter the international market, with some to be given access to a $3-billion credit facility, as a sign of improving relations between the governments of the Philippines and China.

The BOC kicked off Thursday the roadshow for its Global SME Cross-border Trade and Investment conferences slated next year. The conferences will serve as an avenue for local SMEs to meet international firms and discuss business opportunities in trade, technology import and acquisition.

Wang Jian, BOC head office general manager for SME Services department, said between 400 to 500 SMEs would be matched with some 100 Chinese firms in a conference in March next year, while some 1,000 SMEs would partake in another conference by September.

BOC’s matchmaking service overturns the traditional mode for inviting investments but adopts an innovative one-to-one or one-to-more negotiation and connection.

The BOC said this process has broken the traditional investment attraction mode by removing many kinds of obstacles enterprises may encounter in their cross-border business process.

Aside from these matchmaking services, the BOC has likewise agreed to provide a $3-billion credit facility for SMEs.

SMEs which can avail of the credit facility will have to comply with several requirements of the BOC.

The BOC last month signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Department of Trade and Industry, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), and the International Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ICCP) during President Duterte’s state visit in China.

“This roadshow is milestone for us in preparation for the trade and investment conferences under the strategic cooperation agreement for promoting investment and trade between China and the Philippines which was signed by PCCI, the BOC, and the ICCP last October,” PCCI honorary chairman Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said.

“We hope this will further strengthen the ties between our countries. We have been searching for something to help our SMEs in area of financing. That is why we try to cultivate this relationship,” Ortiz-Luis added, noting that 25 percent of the SMEs in the country currently do not have access to loans.

SMEs comprise 99.6 percent of all registered business in the country and 70 percent of its workforce.