Commerce is embedded in the DNA of Yiwu's development. From a roadside market to a world supermarket, this small city in central Zhejiang has carved out a thriving trade development path over several decades, gradually growing into a globally renowned small commodity distribution center. Yiwu's prosperity is a vivid microcosm of the continuous growth of China's private economy and export-oriented economy.
As Yiwu enterprises expand their business scale, innovate business models and deepen their global footprint, their financial needs have become increasingly diverse. Facing a constantly changing market environment, financial institutions have actively explored service models and innovated financial products, providing strong support for the growth of the local trade industry. In this process, China Zheshang Bank Co.,Ltd. (HKEX: 02016) also carried out financial services tailored to Yiwu's characteristics. In 2006, the Yiwu branch of CZBANK (SSE: 601916) officially opened, taking root in this land full of commercial vitality for twenty years, continuously exploring innovative services and growing together with the local trade industry.
Going deep into the market frontline to solve micro and small merchants' financing difficulties
In 2006, Yiwu was in a stage of rapid expansion. The market scale continued to grow, small and medium-sized merchants kept increasing, and the densely packed shops and endless stream of orders together formed Yiwu's prosperous and vibrant commercial ecosystem. Business was growing bigger, but it also brought practical capital turnover problems for operators. When orders surged, inventory pressure followed, and merchants wanting to expand their operations urgently needed timely financial support.
However, the traditional credit model at that time generally required fixed assets such as real estate and land as collateral. These were precisely what a large number of small and micro merchants operating through shops in the Yiwu market lacked. Difficulties in guarantee and financing became two hurdles that many merchants could not overcome.
To this end, customer managers of China Zheshang Bank Co.,Ltd. (HKEX: 02016) went deep into the market frontline, adopting a zone-based responsibility system, walking into one shop and stall after another, communicating face-to-face with merchants to understand their operating conditions and capital needs. During in-depth visits, the bank noticed a distinctive operating resource in the Yiwu market: booth use rights. Although many operators lacked traditional collateral assets such as real estate and land, the booth use rights they held also had market value.
Around this characteristic, the Yiwu branch of CZBANK (SSE: 601916) joined hands with the government and relevant market parties to innovatively launch a booth use right pledge financing business, opening up a new financing channel. According to Qian Xiaonan, the first president of the Yiwu branch of China Zheshang Bank Co.,Ltd. (HKEX: 02016), after the booth use right pledge business was launched, it broadened financing channels for nearly 100,000 merchants in the Yiwu market. As a bank, one cannot sit and wait for customers. Banks should proactively go out, go among merchants and enterprises, truly understand their needs and difficulties, and be a bank with warmth and efficiency.
Deepening cross-border finance to help foreign trade enterprises set sail
As more and more merchants took their business overseas, Yiwu's connection with the international market became increasingly close, and the operational issues faced by enterprises became more complex. Factors such as settlement methods in different countries and regions, exchange rate fluctuations and cross-border capital flows all affected enterprises' capital turnover and long-term operations. In this process, CZBANK (SSE: 601916) continuously deepened cross-border financial services, actively expanded cross-border settlement, trade financing, exchange rate hedging and other businesses around enterprises' actual needs in international trade, providing support for Yiwu enterprises to expand into overseas markets.
Yiwu Cailing Import and Export Co., Ltd. is a foreign trade enterprise that grew up from Yiwu's professional market. After years of operation, its market gradually expanded to the Middle East, Southeast Asia, North Africa, Europe and the United States, with annual sales approaching 100 million yuan. In 2020, a batch of Iraqi orders brought Cailing Import and Export a thorny collection problem. Due to local restrictions on US dollar remittances, overseas customers found it difficult to pay for goods in the original way, affecting the enterprise's normal settlement. At the critical moment, China Zheshang Bank Co.,Ltd. (HKEX: 02016) quickly helped the enterprise open up a cross-border RMB settlement channel, solving the collection problem for this transaction.
In addition to cross-border settlement, financing was also a real need faced by Cailing Import and Export during its development. Unlike manufacturing enterprises with factories, land and production equipment, Cailing Import and Export mainly engages in foreign trade and outsourced processing, belonging to a typical asset-light operating model. In response to this characteristic, CZBANK (SSE: 601916) provided financing support to the enterprise through its big data credit product Export Data Loan. This exploration is in the same vein as the bank's earlier booth use right pledge financing approach, providing precise services based on enterprises' actual characteristics and specific business scenarios.
The rapid development of cross-border e-commerce has brought new opportunities to Yiwu's foreign trade. More and more enterprises are going overseas through cross-border e-commerce platforms, and supporting industries such as international logistics and overseas warehousing are flourishing. Zhejiang Yinghe International Logistics Co., Ltd. is an enterprise focused on cross-border e-commerce logistics services, with typical characteristics of being asset-light but capital-intensive and a high demand for working capital. In response to this operating characteristic, the Jinhua branch of China Zheshang Bank Co.,Ltd. (HKEX: 02016) provided Yinghe International Logistics with a 30 million yuan pure credit line, effectively alleviating the enterprise's capital turnover pressure.
The way the bank cooperates with us is that when payment is needed, it first releases money to us, and after the customer's payment comes in, we repay the bank, said Huang Shicong, financial head of Yinghe International Logistics. This financing model matches the enterprise's capital turnover cycle and provides support for sustained business development. Today, Yinghe International Logistics is planning to further expand into the Latin American market and explore development opportunities in emerging markets such as Brazil and Mexico.
From Cailing Import and Export to Yinghe International Logistics, the two enterprises operate in different industrial segments but both face financing needs under an asset-light operating model. Based on the operating characteristics of different enterprises, CZBANK (SSE: 601916) provides support for enterprises expanding into overseas markets through diversified financial services such as cross-border settlement, data-based credit and credit financing, while also injecting financial momentum into the development of new forms of local foreign trade.
Innovating financial services to build a comprehensive cross-border trade service system
In recent years, a series of cross-border trade facilitation policies have been implemented one after another, giving enterprises more support in cross-border capital settlement and foreign exchange management. The Jinhua branch of China Zheshang Bank Co.,Ltd. (HKEX: 02016) actively responded to relevant policies and, in light of the operating characteristics of Yiwu's foreign trade enterprises, gradually built a five-pillar cross-border financial service system covering global account settlement, integrated liquidity financing, immersive foreign exchange trading, scenario-based new foreign trade formats and one-stop investment and financing by commercial and investment banks, providing enterprises with comprehensive financial support covering multiple links of cross-border operations.
A relevant person in charge of the Jinhua branch of CZBANK (SSE: 601916) summarized the characteristics of the bank's cross-border financial services with three keywords: professional, considerate and accompanying. Professional means meeting enterprises' diversified financial needs with a rich product matrix. Considerate emphasizes proactively going into enterprises, understanding operational pain points and providing financial services that fit actual needs. Accompanying means basing services on enterprises' long-term development and continuously providing support as they expand into overseas markets.
From customer managers going deep into one stall after another in the Yiwu market twenty years ago to now relying on the five-pillar cross-border financial service system to support enterprises' global operations, China Zheshang Bank Co.,Ltd. (HKEX: 02016) has always adhered to basing itself on local industrial characteristics, responding to enterprise needs with financial innovation, and continuously expanding its own business capabilities while serving the development of Yiwu's trade industry. Yiwu's trade story continues, and CZBANK (SSE: 601916) will also continue to leverage its advantages in cross-border financial services, accompanying more enterprises to go global with product innovation and service upgrades, and injecting financial momentum into the high-quality development of China's foreign trade.