Financial support for urban industrial upgrading example: Qilu Bank Zibo Branch's technological finance shows results

Zhang Jing Reporter Ci Yupeng, Zibo Report

During the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, Shandong Province’s Zibo, an old industrial city, has seen remarkable results in industrial transformation and upgrading. It won State Council inspection and incentive awards twice. By the end of 2025, the number of the Shandong Yanzhen-shaped industrial clusters located in Zibo City has grown to 12. The national-level “little giants” and provincial-level specialists in niche fields and “new and special” enterprises have reached 99 and 719 respectively. There are 29 national-level single champions, ranking second in Shandong Province. The momentum for scientific and technological innovation continues to be released.

In the process of industrial transformation and upgrading, “fresh” financing is indispensable. A reporter from China Business News learned from interviews that since Qilu Bank’s Zibo Branch opened in October 2024, it has continued to focus on technology finance and constantly improved the quality and effectiveness of its services. Its ability to support S&T-oriented innovative enterprises has been increasing day by day, injecting financial strength into the local industrial transformation and upgrading.

Specialized and “new and special” firms: an 8-day “capital express”

In recent years, as Zibo City advances industrial transformation and upgrading, a number of local specialized and “new and special” enterprises have risen quickly. Qilu Bank’s Zibo Branch has seized industry opportunities, strengthened technology finance, and enabled technology enterprises.

Shandong a certain marine equipment engineering technology company (hereinafter “Marine Company”) is a specialized and “new and special” enterprise in Zibo City. Its main businesses include sandblasting for rust removal of marine equipment and the application of anti-corrosion coating spray. It has established long-term, stable cooperative relationships with major domestic state-owned shipbuilders, shipyards, and ship companies, and in recent years its business scale has continued to expand.

The person in charge of Marine Company told the reporter that the company has industry-leading core technologies, which can effectively solve the problem of corrosion of marine machinery and equipment in seawater environments.

In 2025, Marine Company ran into “growing pains.” The company’s person in charge told the reporter, “Because our business volume has expanded, the company needs to purchase land and equipment to expand production capacity, and at that time the funds were under some pressure.”

Under the above circumstances, Qilu Bank’s Zibo Branch took swift action. In just 8 natural days—from connecting with the customer to disbursing a RMB 10 million offline technology-related credit loan—it quickly solved the company’s funding problem. How was the efficient disbursement of this loan achieved?

One reason is accurate understanding of the industry. The person in charge of Marine Company said that in recent years the company’s operating condition has been good. When it borrowed, it contacted multiple banks. In the end, it chose Qilu Bank’s Zibo Branch because the branch quickly grasped the company’s business characteristics and future development prospects, provided an appropriate loan solution, and ultimately achieved efficient loan deployment, effectively supporting enterprise development.

The person in charge of the Inclusive Finance Department of Qilu Bank’s Zibo Branch told the reporter that the branch’s deep understanding of the industry mainly comes from empowerment from the head office. At Qilu Bank, each branch periodically carries out regional analysis of high-quality industries and sectors in line with regional economic development needs. The head office determines the entry industries and resource allocation based on factors such as policy orientation, market changes, and local support areas, and provides related research support to branches. This helps branches grasp industry trends and understand industry characteristics and dynamics.

At the same time, to improve approval efficiency, Qilu Bank has set up a more efficient loan approval chain. The person in charge of the Inclusive Finance Department of the branch said that Qilu Bank’s head office has a dedicated approval post for science and technology and green finance. The Zibo branch has innovatively implemented a mechanism of “a special team for pushing credit business” and “a special team for coordinating inclusive finance projects.” For special-team loan projects, there are time-efficiency requirements for the entire process—from material collection, drafting, and submission to risk approval—and responsibility is tightened step by step, thereby speeding up the approval process.

The share of corporate legal person loans for science and technology-based micro and small enterprises is nearly 30%

The reporter learned from interviews that since its establishment more than a year ago, Qilu Bank’s Zibo Branch has maintained a strong development momentum. By the end of 2025, the balance of deposits across all categories was RMB 1.275 billion, an increase of RMB 1.065 billion from the beginning of 2025. The balance of loans across all categories was RMB 1.750 billion, an increase of RMB 1.690 billion from the beginning of 2025.

It is worth noting that by the end of 2025, Qilu Bank’s inclusive finance loans for corporate legal person-level science and technology-based micro and small enterprises reached RMB 105 million, accounting for 29.4% of the bank’s total balance of inclusive finance loans. Within its inclusive finance business, the science and technology innovation finance segment has performed prominently, and has become an important pillar for the growth of inclusive finance loans.

The reporter learned from interviews that Qilu Bank has launched multiple technology-related loan products, such as Ke e-loan, Ke Rong e-loan, Ke Chuang Yi-loan, and technology achievement transformation loans. It also recognizes credit enhancement from light-asset factors such as intellectual property rights. Among them, the bank’s specialized technology finance products have been effectively utilized, and it has initially established a differentiated credit service system for S&T-oriented innovative enterprises. By focusing on target customer groups such as provincial specialized and “new and special” enterprises, S&T-based small and medium-sized enterprises, and high-tech enterprises, it serves market entities with innovation potential and growth potential.

To further enhance its ability to provide science and technology innovation finance services, in 2025, Qilu Bank’s head office built the “Lingtong Large Model Application Platform,” aiming to bridge the “last mile” for technology application.

During the construction of the above platform, Qilu Bank set up a large model application advancement working group jointly formed by the technology department and the business departments. This group is responsible for overall planning of platform construction, coordinating resource allocation, and reviewing the implementation of business scenarios. By establishing a cross-department coordination mechanism, it breaks the traditional pattern of “the technology department shutting itself in to work while the business department passively accepts.”

Relying on the “Lingtong Large Model Application Platform,” Qilu Bank has built an open AI capability ecosystem. The platform not only provides basic model-calling capabilities, but also encourages frontline employees to become “low-code/no-code” AI application developers through functions such as a “prompt word store” and “workflow orchestration,” lowering the barrier to using AI technology and improving employees’ engagement across the bank.

Judging from other measures, in 2025, Qilu Bank’s Zibo Branch worked to build an ecosystem alliance and create a “scenario-based” bulk customer acquisition model. It proactively embedded into the local science and technology governance system, establishing a normalized data-sharing and joint visit mechanism with relevant functional departments at all levels, and dynamically obtaining databases of high-tech enterprises, lists of technology project approvals, and patent award information, thereby achieving precise “list-based” customer matching.

In terms of team building, relevant personnel at Qilu Bank said that the bank designed systematic training courses for S&T innovation finance, covering content such as industry analysis, technology basics, intellectual property assessment, financial model construction, and fundamentals of equity valuation. It also introduced practical teaching such as case analysis and sand-table drills. The bank studied and formulated differentiated performance evaluation plans tailored to the characteristics of S&T innovation finance, increased the weight of assessments for customers’ long-term comprehensive returns and growth indicators, explored and established a due diligence exemption and tolerance-for-error mechanism that matches the nature of risk realities, and stimulated the initiative of customer managers to expand business.

At the same time, Qilu Bank’s Zibo Branch optimized its risk control model to achieve “penetrating” risk management. It established a risk control system adapted to the characteristics of S&T enterprises, focusing on “soft information” such as their technology R&D progress, the stability of their core teams, changes in market orders, and progress in financing rounds. This model aligns with the regulatory policy orientation of “encouraging banking institutions to establish and improve differentiated exclusive evaluation and assessment systems for S&T enterprises in different regions, in different industries, and at different stages of their life cycles.”

The person in charge of the Inclusive Finance Department of the Zibo Branch told the reporter that in 2026, the branch will further strengthen communication and docking with relevant functional departments at all levels. Leveraging the efficiency advantages of online products, it will continuously promote and expand the coverage of science and technology innovation loans. At the same time, it will continue to rely on local chain-leading enterprises to manage customer groups, serving S&T enterprises in the chain and expanding the scope of support for science and technology innovation finance.

(Editor: Zhang Manyou; Review: He Shasha; Proofread: Liu Jun)

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