In the early morning, a freight train loaded with photovoltaic modules, mechanical and electrical components, and daily necessities departed from Kunming. Along the 1035 km long China Laos Railway, heading south, passing through the morning fog at Mohan Port and the mountains of Luang Prabang, the goods arrived at the Vientiane Plain, which is a growing modern industrial new city - Laos Vientiane Saitha Comprehensive Development Zone. This is jointly established by the governments of China and Laos, and is the only national level overseas economic and trade cooperation zone for China in Laos. Recently, Hengfeng Bank successfully secured an overseas loan of 121 million yuan to support the construction and operation of development zones, providing solid support from the Chinese financial system for the investment and construction of its green supporting facilities and industrial investment platform.

Industrial New City at the End of the Railway

In the past five years since the opening of the China Laos Railway, both passengers and goods have flourished. The cumulative number of passengers sent has exceeded 80 million. The categories of goods transported have expanded from a dozen to thousands at the beginning of the opening. The cost of land transportation between Vientiane and Kunming has decreased by 40% to 50%. Laos has thus transformed from a landlocked country to a landlocked country.

But railways bring more than just displacement. What Saiseta Development Zone needs to do is to solidify its channel advantages into tangible industrial advantages. The development zone covers an area of 11.5 square kilometers and is located in the core area of Wanxiang New City, providing one-stop agency services for enterprises from signing contracts to production; 2000 solar street lights illuminate the roads in the park, and new energy buses travel back and forth on the main road. This is also a low-carbon demonstration zone for China Laos South cooperation in addressing climate change.

As of now, the development zone has attracted 182 enterprises from 9 countries and regions including China, Thailand, and Japan to settle in. After all are put into operation, the expected annual output value is over 2 billion US dollars, creating more than 15000 job opportunities.

The road to landing a billion yuan loan

Overseas investment loans involve country risk assessment, cross-border compliance review, foreign exchange management, cross-border due diligence and other links, with a long business chain and strict audit standards, and the challenges are self-evident.

Hengfeng Bank Branch has established a special working group to conduct in-depth on-site research on the actual situation of the development zone, accurately calculate the project funding gap, and repeatedly optimize the financing plan. Every step has been taken solidly and prudently. Under the unified scheduling of the entire bank, the opening of the green channel, compliance verification, and efficient promotion of foreign exchange processing procedures have been carried out. This cross-border, cross departmental, and cross line business has been successfully implemented, becoming another breakthrough for the bank's cross-border investment and financing business in the Southeast Asian market.

Financial vitality continues to move southward

Road connectivity promotes business prosperity, and financial regulations ensure smooth blood flow. From convenient finance for border residents to pioneering cross-border settlement, from a financing and intelligent service model to this overseas investment loan, Hengfeng Bank has always embedded its own development into Yunnan's strategic positioning as a radiation center for South Asia and Southeast Asia.

This loan not only quenched the thirst for funds for the construction of the park, but also extended the service tentacles of China's financial system to the front line of the joint construction of the the Belt and Road project. Next, Hengfeng Bank will continue to closely follow the national strategic deployment, innovate the cross-border financial product system, actively expand the overseas financial market, and write a new answer in the journey of serving high-level opening-up and supporting high-quality regional economic development.Editor/Yang Meiling