First pledge financing on Geographical Indication Certification made in ...

"This is good news for agriculture in Zhenhai District, as it gives growers more confidence in their future development." said a related person in charge from Zhenhai Rural Professional Technology Association on April 1. As the registrant of the "Zhenhai Strawberry" geographical indication certification trademark, the association has recently completed the intellectual property pledge registration procedures and obtained a 50 million yuan credit for the geographical indication certification trademark from Zhenhai Rural Commercial Bank.

Reportedly, this is the first pledge financing business on geographical indication certification trademark in Zhenhai District.

At present, the strawberry planting area in Zhenhai District is stable at over 2,500 mu, with an annual output value of nearly 60 million yuan. However, most growers are small and micro enterprises or individual businesses, with fewer fixed assets available for collateral, and the common difficulty in financing.

To help the growers overcome difficulties and promote the high-quality development of the strawberry industry, the Market Supervision Bureau of Zhenhai District is exploring the work of intellectual property pledge financing for enterprises with geographical indication products. In collaboration with Zhenhai Rural Commercial Bank, the credit financing loan model has been upgraded. Based on a comprehensive evaluation of the products and brand building, financing credit is obtained by using geographical indication certification trademarks as collateral.

"We adopt a 'credit before review' approach, which is equal to the bank issuing a credit card with a limit to the growers. As long as they need it, they can use and withdraw loans as they please." said a related person in charge from the Market Supervision Bureau. Compared with general financing credit, enterprises with geographical indication products obtain credit through intellectual property pledge, which has such advantages as high quota, low interest rate, and fast approval. Meanwhile, there is no need for guarantees or evaluation charge.