Securing financing and affording high costs remain major obstacles for many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on their growth path. However, in Shiyan City, Hubei Province, a growing number of companies are using patented technology and quality reputation to open doors at banks, transforming intangible "soft power" into tangible credit assets.

Since the start of this year, the Shiyan Municipal Market Supervision Bureau has channeled 1.256 billion yuan in financial resources to enterprises, effectively stimulating market vitality. In the peak production season of August, a visit to the manufacturing workshop of Hubei Anshun Food Industry Co., Ltd. reveals automated production lines running at full speed, with barrels of Wudanghua brand rapeseed oil ready for shipment nationwide. This provincial-level specialized and new "little giant" enterprise holds one invention patent and eight utility model patents, and its products have been selected for the "Hubei Top Ten Specialty Rapeseed Oil Brands." Yet, in the first quarter of this year, the company faced a critical liquidity shortage during a key phase of expanding online sales channels and increasing raw material procurement.

"We only knew patents could protect technology, but we never imagined they could turn into emergency funds," recalled Yang Cheng, the company's deputy general manager. The Zhangwan District Market Supervision Bureau proactively assisted the company in securing intellectual property pledge financing, connecting it with evaluation agencies and partner banks. This resulted in over 20 million yuan in credit lines, quickly converting "paper patents" into development capital. With the funds injected, the company's production lines ran at full capacity, achieving 3,000 daily online orders and 20 tons of daily offline shipments. First-half output value reached 30 million yuan. "Orders for the second half are quite full, and we are collaborating with the Oil Crops Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Wuhan Polytechnic University on research and development, aiming for an annual output value exceeding 50 million yuan," Yang Cheng said with confidence.

A similar story of monetizing intangible assets is unfolding in the high-end equipment manufacturing sector. At the workshop of Hubei Kewei Mechanical and Electrical Equipment Co., Ltd., technicians are performing final adjustments on instrument panel manipulators destined for Southeast Asia. This provincial-level specialized and new "little giant" enterprise, which has深耕 intelligent automotive conveying equipment for over a decade, holds more than 40 patents. Riding the wave of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation in recent years, its foreign trade orders have risen to over 60% of total revenue. However, the surge in orders has also dramatically increased the company's working capital pressure. At a critical moment, the "E Quality Loan" program provided timely relief. Without property mortgages or third-party guarantees, the company's loan approval relied solely on its years of accumulated quality reputation. "The Market Supervision Bureau actively helped us connect with banks, and we quickly secured a pure credit loan, which immediately revitalized our production funds," said Yu Yao, the company's comprehensive department head. With timely funding, overseas orders moved forward smoothly. Liu Changjun, the company's manufacturing department head, noted, "In the first half of this year, we delivered projects on time for Indonesia, South Africa, Thailand, and other countries, with a total value of 30 million yuan. The second-half target is 80 million yuan, and overseas cooperation projects are progressing steadily."

The financing experiences of these two enterprises serve as vivid examples of the Shiyan Municipal Market Supervision Bureau's efforts to realize the value of intangible assets. Since the beginning of the year, the bureau has actively established a quality enterprise whitelist and an intellectual property financing project database, collaborating with banks to share information. Through measures such as "park visits to benefit enterprises," bank-enterprise matchmaking meetings, and risk compensation mechanisms, it has smoothed the entire chain from asset evaluation to loan disbursement. According to a relevant official from the Shiyan Municipal Market Supervision Bureau, the city is continuously deepening government-bank-enterprise cooperation, converting enterprise assets like quality, patents, and standards into credit lines on a large scale. As of the end of July, the city had cumulatively approved 800 million yuan in loans through the "E Quality Loan" program and 456 million yuan in intellectual property pledge financing, benefiting nearly 100 SMEs. From "intellectual property" to "assets," from "quality" to "credit," the Shiyan municipal market supervision department is acting as a bridge to awaken dormant intangible assets, transforming them into financial resources that help enterprises overcome challenges. Yang Changchun, Party Secretary and Director of the Shiyan Municipal Market Supervision Bureau, stated that the next step will be to further expand the coverage of quality financing and credit enhancement, explore more efficient and convenient financial service models, and enable more enterprises to easily secure financing and develop with confidence based on their technology and quality, contributing greater strength to Shiyan's high-quality development.