At the Industrial Bank Co.,Ltd. 2025 performance briefing, Chairman Lu Jiajin emphasized the banking sector's urgent pursuit of "new quality productive forces" when discussing industrial finance. He stated that the bank must seize opportunities in technological and industrial innovation with a pressing sense of urgency, laying out strategies for new industrial sectors based on deepened research, capturing leading enterprises in industries, and driving asset business growth and structural optimization.
According to Lu, during the "16th Five-Year Plan" period, Industrial Bank Co.,Ltd. will renew its development philosophy and upgrade its business model through the development of industrial finance, thereby better serving the construction of a modern industrial system.
Detailing the bank's development strategy for the "16th Five-Year Plan," Lu highlighted a focus on digitalization, green development, internationalization, integration, and ecosystem-building. The strategy centers on deepening industrial finance to support the modern industrial system, while continuing to enhance its four key strengths: technology finance, green finance, wealth banking, and investment banking, aiming to build a top-tier value bank.
Two key points drew particular attention. First, the internationalization strategy. Lu stated that international expansion is an essential path for Industrial Bank Co.,Ltd. to grow its market presence. He explained that U.S. containment measures and domestic "involution" are pushing Chinese companies to expand overseas, suggesting that companies must "go global or face elimination." As more Chinese enterprises venture abroad, corresponding overseas infrastructure, industrial ecosystems, and comprehensive service systems will become increasingly robust, which in turn will attract more companies to expand internationally. Lu predicted that the coming years will see an acceleration in corporate overseas expansion.
Lu emphasized that the bank must treat internationalization as a critical matter impacting its success or failure, making international business an indispensable function for serving clients. The goal is for Industrial Bank Co.,Ltd.'s international business to join the top tier of joint-stock commercial banks within the next two to three years.
Second, the deep cultivation of industrial finance. Lu clarified that developing industrial finance does not simply mean engaging in corporate banking or lending, nor does it mean following the old path of "heavy assets, low returns, and limited space," or focusing solely on corporate finance and strategic clients. Instead, it involves serving not only enterprises but also the entire ecosystem in which they operate, including related innovation chains, supply chains, equity chains, capital chains, and talent chains. This approach extends from large enterprises to small and micro-enterprises, from corporate clients to individuals, shifts from entity credit to transaction credit, and moves from single services to comprehensive services.
Lu stated that the objective is to treat industrial finance as an update to the development philosophy and an upgrade to the business model, positioning Industrial Bank Co.,Ltd. as the preferred banking partner for industries and using industries as a lever to drive the bank's overall transformation and development.
He revealed that the bank has conducted systematic research on industrial finance and formulated specific work plans. Key focuses for the next phase include three areas: First, targeting leading enterprises—Industrial Bank Co.,Ltd. has identified a target pool covering 1,800 customer families, 2,023 core clients, and 175,000 customers, with plans to add 200 customer families this year.
Second, promoting integration—breaking down the clear divisions between banking departments and isolated roles to foster integrated development of various businesses, achieving integration across large, medium, and small clients, and integrating corporate and retail banking.
Third, strengthening technology—as industrial finance significantly expands business boundaries, the previous approach of relationship managers working alone is no longer sustainable. It is essential to enhance backend support through technological enablement and data empowerment.
AIC has become an important force in serving technological innovation. Last November, Xingyin Financial Asset Investment Co., Ltd. was established, becoming the first joint-stock commercial bank financial asset investment company (AIC) in China. How the AIC license will be utilized has attracted significant attention.
Vice President Zeng Xiaoyang of Industrial Bank Co.,Ltd. stated that AIC has become a crucial force in serving technological innovation. He noted that when serving technology enterprises, especially small and medium-sized startups, the bank deeply understands that clients seek capital support and assistance in transforming scientific research achievements.
However, objectively speaking, enterprises at this stage face relatively higher risks, and banks may struggle to balance risks and returns. Therefore, helping companies find compliant capital sources is vital, and AIC addresses this issue to some extent. On one hand, banks can make equity investments through AIC, becoming "growth partners" for enterprises and providing resource support for their development. On the other hand, through equity-loan linkage, banks can better balance returns and risks while broadening their client base.
Zeng revealed that Industrial Bank Co.,Ltd. will next leverage its multi-license advantages within the group, including AIC, to strengthen collaboration and focus on three key areas: First, deepening the integrated research, business, and risk mechanism to better identify target clients with growth potential. Second, building ecosystems by integrating internal and external resources to establish a partnership system involving government departments, universities, research institutions, industrial parks, industry associations, investment institutions, law firms, and accounting firms. Third, developing a combined product and service system of "equity, debt, and loans" to create integrated financial service channels that blend direct and indirect financing, thereby better supporting the growth of technology enterprises.
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