By the end of June 2015, ICBC recorded a balance of loans worth over RMB 220 billion granted to the domestic culture industry, including RMB 17.5 billion from  the beginning of the year to date, representing an increase of 11.6%. This made the industry one of the sectors with the fastest growth in financing bank-wide. So far, the Bank has become the commercial bank with the most outstanding loans to the culture industry in China, and stepped up its support of small and medium-sized cultural enterprises. It has provided financing to more than 5,000 cultural SMEs, with the loan balance accounting for 80% of the total for the culture industry.

According to an ICBC official, in recent years, the Bank has actively implemented the “culture + finance" service model and continued to strengthen financial support of the culture industry by studying the sector’s characteristics, law of development and operational models. In order to meet the extensive but obviously varied needs of cultural enterprises for financial services, ICBC, has creatively set up an exclusive financing products system that meets their diversified financing needs, and a comprehensive service network that covers the upstream and downstream links of the sector.

For the cultural investment and management enterprises with long investment cycles but great growth potentials, the Bank has innovatively employed the equity investment service model to meet their demand for specialized and differentiated financing services. For example, the Bank has launched a film, TV and culture industry fund mainly engaged in banking businesses, including fundraising, recommending equity investment projects and qualified institutional investors, serving as financial adviser to the fund, and assisting with the management of invested projects; lifted the traditional barrier between financial capital and the culture industry; helped well-performing enterprises boost their capital strength in major projects; and financed the shooting of The Orphan of the Zhao Family, La Ma Qiao Ba, and Prenuptial Agreement, among other TV plays.

For cultural and entertainment enterprises possessing hardware and broadcast channels, the Bank has offered funding support to over 200 medium and large press and publishing enterprises (including Shanghai United Media Group and Jiangsu Phoenix Publishing & Media Corp.) and the construction of more than 300 scenic spots (including Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan, Zhangjiajie in Hunan and Xixi Wetland in Zhejiang), by ushering in financial products of project loans, investment banking, settlement and cash management. In addition, by leveraging its comprehensive business advantages and employing a slew of methods including debt financing instruments, investment banking and leasing, ICBC has also provided customized financing support to OCT Group, Guangdong Chimelong Group, Hangzhou Wasu, SARFT-Henan, Nakhi Tourism and China Youth Publishing Group, among others.