The China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (SHFTZ) launched a "model company" selection campaign in March 2017, aiming to highlight its innovation and reform achievements over the past years. The six-month long event invited more than 80,000 SHFTZ-registered companies to sign up via self-recommendation or via recommendation from others.

After publication, application, on-site inspection, experts' voting and online voting, the campaign selected the top 10 model companies and six sample enterprises, covering foreign-funded, State-owned and private companies, which served as examples of successfully utilizing SHFTZ's innovative measures to enhance growth and development.

In addition, the SHFTZ has compiled a case book of first model companies for its policy innovation, with the hope of encouraging more companies to turn the Zone's innovative measures and preferential policies into their own advantages and growth points.

About Shenergy Group Finance Co

Shenergy Group Finance Co, a subsidiary of Shenergy Group, is a State-owned joint venture and non-banking financial institution approved by China Banking Regulatory Commission. Founded in 2007, the company's assets total 20 billion yuan ($3.1 billion). Focusing on Shenergy Group's energy industry, the company is dedicated to pursuing financial innovation and has become one of the financial companies with the widest business scope in the country.

Shenergy Group Finance Co is a proof  of SHFTZ's innovation on low-cost cross-border financing channel and also an example of innovative enterprise management system's influence on foreign investment utilization and management.

Since the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone launched the free trade account (FTA) service to enable qualified financial institutions in the zone to offer this service via a separate accounting unit (free trade accounting unit) for transactions, Shenergy Group Finance Co has strived to utilize SHFTZ's innovative policy for its development.

The company established its own free trade accounting unit (FTU) mode, which has been recognized by the supervision authority and industry experts. Its FTU passed through the evaluation of People's Bank of China (PBOC) in June 2015, making the company become one of the first non-bank financial institutions in China to provide financial services related to free trade accounts. In December 2015, it handled the first offshore yuan loan worth 200 million yuan, its first overseas financing completed with own credit and without additional guarantee.

The FTU, which allows cross-border centralized receipt and payment, helped the company raise funds to support the energy trading settlement of its member units and reduce the financing cost. The company's successful experience won the third prize in Shanghai's financial innovation achievements awards.

Taking advantage of FTU's cross-border loan and free settlement and exchange, Shenergy Group Finance Co has been able to bring in overseas low-cost fund and make domestic idle fund go global, improving Shenergy Group’s cross-border financial services and setting model for Shanghai's construction of international financial center and promotion of headquarters economy.

Besides, Shenergy Group Finance Co is working hard to push forward SHFTZ to issue green bonds. The bonds will be the first of its kind in the Zone, with funds coming from domestic and foreign countries to support new-energy and environmental protection projects.