A man works at a workshop of Midea Group in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong province, March 3, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
Guangdong is taking steps to spur industrial upgrading as part of its broader efforts to promote the high quality development of its manufacturing industry.
The southern province plans to offer massive financial support to help industrial enterprises become more advanced, intelligent and greener, according to new guidelines released by the provincial government on Monday.
It aims to gather 100 billion yuan ($14 billion) or more in investment funds to bolster technological upgrades for industrial enterprises over the next four years, with more than 9,000 firms each year on average, the guidelines state.
In its new guidelines, Guangdong also pledged to provide greater help to small and medium-sized enterprises in their digital drive
Incentives of up to 15 million yuan will be granted per project.
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“Compared with previous policies, the latest one focuses more on leveraging financial tools to support technological upgrades. The government hopes to divert more capital to the field through policy guidance,” said Yao Ruiting, deputy director of technological upgrade and investment division of the Department of Industry and Information Technology of Guangdong province.
Technological upgrades, which entail improvement of facilities, process conditions and production services with new technologies, equipment and materials, play a vital role in fueling the high quality development of manufacturing industry.
The measures are part of Guangdong province’s broader push to turn itself into an internationally competitive advanced manufacturing base. The development blueprint of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area said it will actively promote transformation and upgrade of the manufacturing industry and optimize development model to fulfil the goal.
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According to official statistics, output of Guangdong’s manufacturing industry hit 16 trillion yuan last year. Value-added of advanced manufacturing in the province grew 2.5 percent year-on-year, accounting for 55.1 percent of the total value-added of its large industrial enterprises.
In the new guidelines, the government also pledged to provide greater help to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in their digital drive. A number of digital services providers will be encouraged to offer services to SMEs ranging from consulting, evaluation to equipment upgrading and software application.
