A dedicated financial product “Smart Factory Loan” was rolled out in Jiangsu, according to a plan jointly issued by Jiangsu Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology and the Bank of Jiangsu.

The special loan will be offered to manufacturing enterprises with certified smart factories up to advanced, excellent or leading standard. Specifically, projects in line with the 40 defining scenarios of smart factories can apply for the loan, which include plant construction, product R&D, production management, production operation, operational management, product services, supply chain management, as well as phased upgrades and renewal of supporting equipment and technological upgrading.

The credit line is generally 70% of a project’s total investment, with a maximum ratio of 80%. The loan term will be reasonably determined by the construction cycle and investment payback period of the smart upgrading project, normally set at five years and no longer than 10 years. A reasonable grace period will be rendered based on project progress. Differentiated loan pricing will be applied based on the tier of the certified smart factory, the enterprise’s rating under the AI + Manufacturing assessment, and the progress of pilot programs for digital transformation. The loan offers more favorable terms than those of comparable commercial loans in loan amount, term and interest rate.