On the 13th, China Securities Journal published an article titled Empowering Sci-Tech Innovation: Guangdong’s Sci-Tech Finance Writes a New Chapter. The article stated that on the coast of the South China Sea, at the underwater equipment testing base of Blue Subsea Ocean Technology in Dongguan Songshan Lake, a yellow underwater robot hovers steadily amid turbulent currents like an agile “deep-sea sentinel”, with the water splashed by its propellers reflecting the cool light of the laboratory.
In Shenzhen, the “City of the Peng”, inside the exhibition hall of Agile Dynamics, a silver-white humanoid robot stretches its mechanical arms to a brisk melody. Its joints rotate flexibly as it turns and leaps, with its metal shell glowing with a technological sheen under the lights.
……
In Guangdong, the wave of scientific and technological innovation surges forward ceaselessly, with new breakthroughs and surprises unfolding every day on this fertile land.
Behind these remarkable achievements lies the precise drip irrigation of financial “living water”. How can cutting-edge hard tech projects connect with long-term “patient capital”? How to clear the bottlenecks in the flow of scientific research funds and ensure their smooth circulation? With these questions in mind, reporters from China Securities Journal recently went deep into Guangdong to explore the innovative development practices of the province’s sci-tech finance.
Integrated “Investment, Loan and Guarantee” Model for Targeted Empowerment
At the underwater equipment testing base of Guangdong Blue Subsea Ocean Technology Co., Ltd. in Dongguan Songshan Lake, a bright yellow intelligent underwater robot is demonstrating its outstanding underwater performance — even under the continuous impact of simulated rapids, it can achieve precise hovering and position maintenance, just like a “helicopter” in the underwater world.
This robot is not only a crystallization of technological innovation, but also a vivid example of how many high-tech enterprises in China are deepening their layout in the marine economy and breaking through key technologies.
“At present, our company’s products have been deeply serving leading enterprises such as Guangdong Energy Group, China National Nuclear Corporation and Dongguan Water Affairs Group. In particular, our core product, the intelligent cableless underwater robot emergency monitoring and disposal system, has entered a critical stage of industrialization, with extremely broad market prospects,” said Hu Gangyi, General Manager of Blue Subsea Ocean Technology, to reporters.
Behind this confidence lies the precise empowerment of Dongguan’s integrated “investment, loan and guarantee” credit granting business. Hu Gangyi still remembers vividly: “It was the loan from Bank of China Dongguan Branch that solved the urgent need for our underwater machinery research and development, allowing us to successfully pass through the ‘valley of death’ from start-up to growth. Later, with the active coordination of Dongguan Sci-Tech Innovation Financing Guarantee Co., Ltd., we further carried out cooperation with multiple financial institutions including China Construction Bank Dongguan Branch and Dongguan Rural Commercial Bank.”
In December 2024, Dongguan’s first integrated “investment, loan and guarantee” credit granting business was first launched at Blue Subsea Ocean Technology. At that time, even after securing angel round equity financing, the enterprise still faced a short-term working capital gap. Under the guidance of the Dongguan Branch of the People’s Bank of China, Dongguan State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and Dongguan Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, Dongguan Sci-Tech Innovation Financing Guarantee Co., Ltd. collaborated with Dongguan Sci-Tech Innovation Capital Investment Management Co., Ltd. and Bank of China Dongguan Branch to provide the enterprise with nearly 20 million yuan in comprehensive financing support. This fund was like “timely rain”, helping Blue Subsea Ocean Technology make a crucial leap in its development journey.
The innovation of this model lies in breaking the single evaluation logic of traditional credit lending. Ran Xin, General Manager of Dongguan Sci-Tech Innovation Financing Guarantee Co., Ltd., introduced that the integrated “investment, loan and guarantee” credit granting business is based on equity investment, with the comprehensive credit line determined according to the ratio of “equity investment: credit loan: bulk guarantee = 2:1:1”, providing enterprises with combined “equity + debt” capital support.
A relevant person in charge of Bank of China Dongguan Branch said, “It has realized the organic integration of ‘investment recognition’, ‘guarantee credit enhancement’ and ‘credit lending’. It not only solves the problem of lack of collateral for sci-tech enterprises, but also improves the scientificity of credit granting decisions through multi-party linkage.”
In particular, targeted service plans are formulated for sci-tech enterprises at different development stages such as the seed stage, growth stage and achievement transformation stage. For example, the seed stage focuses on credit loans to support research and development; the growth stage strengthens the matching of credit lines and guarantee credit enhancement; and the achievement transformation stage meets large capital needs through the integrated “investment, guarantee and loan” model, achieving full-cycle precise empowerment.
Data shows that by the end of October, the integrated “investment, loan and guarantee” credit granting business of Bank of China Dongguan Branch has served 10 sci-tech enterprises cumulatively, providing over 80 million yuan in credit support.
Currently, Dongguan’s sci-tech financial service model is still undergoing continuous upgrading.
The Guangdong Branch of the People’s Bank of China has guided the Dongguan Branch to innovate the “gap intervention mechanism” and the “equity-loan-guarantee-lease” linkage service model, and took the lead in launching the first batch of “equity-loan-guarantee-lease” linkage service teams in the province. It has built a collaborative mechanism within the teams featuring “information sharing, project mutual recommendation, due diligence mutual recognition, risk sharing and benefit sharing”, breaking information barriers and realizing “value co-creation” between institutions and enterprises.
“The service team adopts a ‘one-stop comprehensive consultation’ model to provide enterprises with full-element and full-cycle financial services including equity financing, credit support, guarantee credit enhancement, insurance protection and financial leasing. Since the beginning of this year, the service team has connected with more than 1,470 enterprises, with a total financing amount of 4.7 billion yuan,” said Pan Xueyang, Deputy Governor of the Dongguan Branch of the People’s Bank of China.
With the promotion of the “equity-loan-guarantee-lease” linkage service model across the province, data from the Guangdong Branch of the People’s Bank of China shows that by the end of October 2025, 15 cities including Dongguan, Meizhou and Zhaoqing have established “equity-loan-guarantee-lease” service teams, providing comprehensive financing of over 81 billion yuan for 8,980 enterprises.
“Sci-Tech Board” in the Bond Market Empowers Sci-Tech Enterprises
Building on comprehensive credit granting models such as the integrated “investment, loan and guarantee” model, Shenzhen has further opened up financing channels for tech-based enterprises, introducing long-term “patient capital” for hard tech enterprises through the innovation of the “Sci-Tech Board” in the bond market.
Dancing, waving hello, climbing stairs, standing up from the ground… Walking into the exhibition hall of Agile Dynamics Technology Co., Ltd. in Shenzhen, a sleek, silver-white humanoid robot enthusiastically waves its mechanical arm at reporters, then performs a set of smooth dance moves to the accompaniment of cheerful background music.
Located in Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Agile Dynamics is one of the earliest companies to integrate spatial intelligence and motion intelligence into humanoid robots.
In the view of Zhang Wei, founder of the enterprise, embodied intelligent robots belong to a cutting-edge track involving interdisciplinary research and development and cross-industry application. Stable capital support is required to promote core technology research and scene implementation. “2027 will be a key node for the large-scale mass production of embodied intelligent robots, and the current period is an important window for accumulating energy and making preparations,” said Zhang Wei.
It is precisely because of its optimistic outlook on the broad prospects of the embodied intelligence track that Shenzhen Oriental Fortune Capital Management Co., Ltd. participated in Agile Dynamics’ Pre-B round of financing.
“Looking at Agile Dynamics, we may see an important technological direction for the development of humanoid robots in China,” said Chen Wei, Chairman of Oriental Fortune Capital. This equity capital not only provides direct financial guarantee for the enterprise’s technological research and development, but also leverages the resource advantages of Oriental Fortune Capital to promote the application of embodied intelligence technology in scientific research, manufacturing, commerce and other scenarios.
The development of Agile Dynamics is a typical epitome of how the “Sci-Tech Board” in the bond market links with equity capital to empower tech-based enterprises.
In May this year, the People’s Bank of China and the China Securities Regulatory Commission jointly launched the “Sci-Tech Board” in the bond market, opening up a new financing channel for tech-based enterprises and high-quality equity investment institutions. In June, Oriental Fortune Capital successfully issued its first phase of sci-tech innovation bonds in the interbank market, establishing a multi-party risk-sharing and credit enhancement mechanism featuring “full guarantee by China Bond Insurance Co., Ltd. + counter-guarantee by Shenzhen High-tech Investment Group”.
“By raising long-term funds through sci-tech innovation bonds, Oriental Fortune Capital can further leverage social capital to expand the scale of equity investment funds, forming a ‘bond-equity linkage’ financing support chain for sci-tech enterprises,” said Chen Wei.
From the perspective of regional practice, a relevant person in charge of the Shenzhen Branch of the People’s Bank of China stated that since the launch of the “Sci-Tech Board” in the bond market, by the end of November, enterprises and institutions in Shenzhen have issued a total of over 87 billion yuan of new sci-tech innovation bonds in the interbank market and the exchange market.
At the same time, direct financing and indirect financing are showing an increasingly close integration trend. From the perspective of bond-equity linkage, Chen Wei introduced that Oriental Fortune Capital has also launched the “Fuhai Loan” product in cooperation with China Construction Bank — for projects invested by Oriental Fortune Capital, if the parent company has financing needs, Oriental Fortune Capital will assist in the application, and China Construction Bank can provide unsecured and unguaranteed loans with a term of two to three years.
Clearing Bottlenecks in Cross-Border Flow of Scientific Research Funds
In addition to continuously developing direct financing and bond financing, writing a brilliant chapter on sci-tech finance also means answering the “cross-border finance” paper well.
In the Shenzhen Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone, the morning sun shines on the streets through the glass curtain walls of modern buildings, and the ecological waters in the distance shimmer with ripples. The vitality of sci-tech innovation and the tranquility of nature blend perfectly here.
The Shenzhen Park of the Hetao Cooperation Zone is the only major cooperation platform in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area with sci-tech innovation as its theme. On August 8, 2023, the State Council issued the Development Plan for the Shenzhen Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone, requiring that by 2025, an efficient Shenzhen-Hong Kong sci-tech innovation coordination mechanism should be basically established.
The smooth flow of scientific research funds between Shenzhen and Hong Kong is an important foundation for achieving this goal. To this end, under the guidance of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the Shenzhen Branch of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange issued the Operational Guidelines for the “Sci-Tech Fund Connect” Pilot Program in the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone, providing a convenient channel for scientific research institutions in the zone to allocate scientific research funds cross-border.
These guidelines include allowing overseas scientific research start-up funds to be directly remitted to foreign-funded non-enterprise scientific research institutions in the zone; scientific research institutions in the zone can conveniently handle various foreign exchange businesses such as foreign exchange registration and remittance at banks in Shenzhen, with foreign exchange facilitation policies applicable to the opening of relevant accounts and the use of start-up funds.
City University of Hong Kong’s Institute of Advanced Materials is a beneficiary of the above policies. Since settling in the Shenzhen Park of the Hetao Cooperation Zone in 2020, the research institution has continuously increased investment in platform construction. In September 2025, it remitted over 10 million yuan in start-up funds from Hong Kong through the “Sci-Tech Fund Connect” for the institute’s decoration, equipment procurement and personnel expenses.
Data shows that up to now, 4 scientific research institutions in the Shenzhen Park of the Hetao Cooperation Zone have handled the entry of scientific research funds through the “Sci-Tech Fund Connect”, with a registered amount of over 77 million yuan.
In addition, the Shenzhen Park of the Hetao Cooperation Zone has continued to make breakthroughs in the field of cross-border financing of intellectual property rights. In September 2025, the “Version 2.0” model of intellectual property securitization in the Hetao Cooperation Zone was successfully launched, supporting cross-border financing for 6 sci-tech enterprises including Hailiang Technology in batches.
“The ‘Version 2.0’ model has achieved ‘double cross-border’ — it has for the first time introduced overseas capital to purchase domestically issued intellectual property securitization products through QFII, and for the first time realized that Hong Kong intellectual property rights held by domestic enterprises can be pledged and notarized overseas to provide credit enhancement for the enterprise’s asset-backed plans. This has effectively expanded the source of intellectual property financing funds and the scope of intellectual property collateral, further promoting the integrated development of the intellectual property finance sector between Shenzhen and Hong Kong,” a relevant person in charge of the Hetao Development Authority introduced.
The in-depth and solid innovative development of the Shenzhen Park of the Hetao Cooperation Zone has provided fertile ground for promoting sci-tech finance and cross-border financial pilot reforms. Up to now, the Shenzhen Park of the Hetao Cooperation Zone has gathered more than 200 high-end scientific research projects and 447 sci-tech enterprises, with R&D centers of 8 Fortune Global 500 companies including Apple, as well as R&D centers or branch offices of 5 large central enterprises including China Merchants Group, settled here.
“In the future, with the continuous attention and support of the People’s Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, especially under the direct guidance of the Shenzhen Branch of the People’s Bank of China and the Shenzhen Foreign Exchange Administration, we are confident in continuing to play the role of a major Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao cooperation platform, rooting in the sci-tech innovation ecosystem of the Hetao Cooperation Zone, and serving as a pathfinder and forerunner in sci-tech financial reform pilots,” said a relevant person in charge of the Hetao Development Authority.
Currently, Guangdong is writing a brilliant chapter on sci-tech finance through multi-dimensional innovative practices, building a full-chain support system covering key links such as full-cycle empowerment and smooth cross-border capital flow. These innovative explorations will continue to inject strong momentum into sci-tech enterprises, lay a solid financial foundation for their high-quality development, and write a wonderful chapter of scientific and technological innovation and financial empowerment on the land of Lingnan.
