Foshan's Initiatives for Technological Transformation and Industrial Advancement
Source: The People's Government of Foshan Municipality
To accelerate the promotion of new industrialisation, further strengthen the leading role of the manufacturing industry, and build a youthful and modern manufacturing system, Foshan is implementing a new round of measures to promote industrial enterprise technological transformation.
Strengthen financial support for technological transformation
A certain amount of fiscal funds will be allocated each year to support and guide industrial enterprises in carrying out technological transformations. For the fixed asset investment in the purchase of new equipment by industrial enterprises, a post-reward of up to 20% of the purchase amount will be provided. This measure is implemented in coordination with provincial and municipal policies, and the proportion of incentives for enterprises within the jurisdiction will be kept as consistent as possible, provided that the fiscal capacity allows. For the land acquisition and construction projects of technological transformation projects filed by industrial enterprises, a post-reward of up to 2% of the total investment amount will be given. The annual fiscal reward for fixed asset investment for individual enterprises shall not exceed 15 million RMB.
Guiding and encouraging financial institutions to provide support for technological transformation
Various measures are implemented to guide financial institutions in increasing their investment in technological transformation of industrial enterprises. These measures include:
- Technological Transformation Loan Interest Subsidy: The government provides subsidies of up to 30% of the loan interest for technological transformation credit products. The subsidy period for individual projects does not exceed 3 years, and the annual subsidy for individual enterprises is capped at 4 million RMB. The cumulative subsidy from provincial and municipal governments does not exceed 60% of the loan interest, and the subsidy proportion remains consistent for enterprises within the jurisdiction.
- Financing Lease Subsidy: Support is given to industrial enterprises that carry out technological transformation projects through direct financing lease of equipment. The municipal government provides subsidies of up to 15% of the financing lease contract amount, not exceeding the current Loan Prime Rate (LPR). The annual subsidy per industrial enterprise is capped at 3 million RMB.
- Loan Risk Compensation: The municipal financing guarantee fund compensates cooperating banks for loan losses incurred by unsecured loan products. The risk compensation does not exceed 40% of the actual loan principal loss.
Deepening Digital Empowerment
The city continues cultivating renowned factories and provides incentives for digital demonstration factories and workshops, with rewards up to 2 million RMB and 500,000 RMB respectively. National-level digital factory projects receive rewards up to 500,000 RMB following a graded cultivation approach. Digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprise clusters is emphasised, with rewards up to 10 million RMB for individual industry clusters. The city actively promotes the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in manufacturing through the "AI+ Application" initiative. Each year, up to 30 AI-assisted manufacturing demonstration applications are selected for rewards up to 150,000 RMB. Strengthening the construction of industrial enterprise information security systems, subsidies of up to 5,000 RMB are provided for the purchase of information security insurance products, with a subsidy period of up to 3 years.
Supporting Industrial Design
Foshan City aims to promote product innovation through industrial design. The city encourages industrial enterprises to invest in industrial design and cultivate thousands of Foshan industrial products and "Foshan Standard" products. Each year, an industrial design competition is organised to select up to 200 projects in product design, conceptual creativity, and industrial design, with individual projects receiving rewards up to 250,000 RMB. Support is provided to companies developing products that meet the requirements of provincial-level or higher-level first major technical equipment. The reward is 30% of the equipment's selling price (or the sales revenue of the first batch of products for components or core parts), with a minimum support of 1 million RMB. The reward for complete sets of equipment is not more than 7 million RMB per set, and for individual equipment or batch components/core parts, it is not more than 3 million RMB per unit.
Promoting Green Transformation
Key energy-consuming enterprises in sectors such as power, non-ferrous metals, building materials, petrochemicals, chemicals, textile printing and dyeing, and paper are supported in carrying out energy-saving and carbon reduction measures. Rewards up to 400,000 RMB are given for the establishment of national-level green manufacturing demonstration enterprises, and rewards up to 1 million RMB are given for the recognition of national-level green industrial parks. The promotion of new energy storage applications is accelerated, with post-investment rewards not exceeding 100 RMB/kWh for projects with an installed capacity of 1 MW or more, and not exceeding 1 million RMB for individual projects. Demonstrative new energy storage projects receive post-investment rewards not exceeding 10% of the actual investment in energy storage facilities, with individual project rewards not exceeding 3 million RMB. Comprehensive energy management diagnostics for industrial enterprises are supported, with subsidies up to 30,000 RMB for projects included in the annual plan and completed.
Encouraging Technology-oriented Mergers and Acquisitions
A capital empowerment fund is established to support technology-oriented mergers and acquisitions. Enterprises that successfully implement industrial mergers and acquisitions for the first time through proactive mergers, joint investments, etc., receive rewards up to 300,000 RMB. A 50% reward is given for actual intermediary service fees, with individual project rewards not exceeding 500,000 RMB, and a maximum annual reward of 1 million RMB per enterprise. Financial support for mergers and acquisitions is strengthened, encouraging financial institutions or consortiums led by financial institutions to provide loans and preferential interest rates for enterprise mergers and acquisitions. Insurance companies are encouraged to offer enterprise merger compensation products that meet market demand, providing discounted insurance rates.
Accelerating Transformation towards Specialised and Innovative Directions
Support is provided for small and medium-sized industrial enterprises to focus on technological innovation and development in industry segments to become "champions" and "supporting experts." One-time rewards up to 1.2 million RMB and 300,000 RMB are given for nationally recognised and provincially recognised champions respectively. "Little Giant" enterprises that are newly recognised, pass re-evaluation, or relocate to the jurisdiction receive one-time rewards up to 1 million RMB. Each enterprise can receive the reward once at most.
Strengthening Support for Technological Transformation
Industrial project land guarantees are strengthened to encourage "zero land use" and "intensive land use" in technological transformation projects. For manufacturing technological transformation projects that comply with the plan and do not change land use, the additional land price difference will not be collected if the plot ratio and building density are increased. Service providers are supported in developing high-quality, low-cost, fast-deployment, and easy-to-maintain cloud-based digital application solutions around industrial application scenarios. Intelligent manufacturing equipment and robotics industry enterprises are encouraged to develop into high-level innovative enterprises with specialisation and refinement. Each year, a group of eligible enterprises is selected to join Foshan's ecological supply resource pool for technological transformation.
Disclaimer: This document has been translated into English. If there is any inconsistency or ambiguity between the English version and the Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail. The full text of the measures, in Chinese, can be found below: http://www.foshan.gov.cn/zwgk/gggs/content/post_5869816.html