The State Council issues the implementation plan, proposing 12 specific measures to gradually establish a unified comprehensive evaluation system for corporate credit status.

◎Reporter Yu Xiangming

A guideline recently issued by the General Office of the State Council, the “Implementation Plan for Establishing a Comprehensive Corporate Credit Assessment System” (hereinafter referred to as the “Implementation Plan”), mentions accelerating the integration and application of public credit assessments with market-based credit assessments. It encourages business entities to provide preferential treatment or convenience measures for enterprises with good credit standing in market activities such as bidding and tendering and commercial dealings.

Experts say that while the policy encourages offering discounts to enterprises with good credit in market activities like bidding and tendering and commercial dealings, in essence it is about turning credit into the “hard currency” of market transactions. Against the backdrop of building a nationwide unified big market, enterprises’ good credit records can directly bring about lower transaction costs, better financing conditions, more business opportunities, and enhanced market competitiveness. This helps reduce institutional transaction costs across society, and is a concrete reflection of efforts to optimize the business environment.

The Implementation Plan proposes 12 specific measures in total, with “establishing the institutional framework for a comprehensive corporate credit assessment system” taking first place. According to the Implementation Plan, to better play the foundational role of public credit assessment results in the comprehensive corporate credit assessment, it is necessary to promote the mutual integration of public credit assessments and market-based credit assessments, and gradually form a unified comprehensive corporate credit assessment system.

He Ling, Director of the Comprehensive Assessment Division of the Business Environment Development and Promotion Center under the National Development and Reform Commission, said that the social credit system is a fundamental system in a market economy. The Implementation Plan clarifies the complementary relationship between public credit assessment and market-based credit assessment, defines their connotations and boundaries, and will promote two-way integration of the two types of information, helping the government be more capable and the market more efficient.

The Implementation Plan makes arrangements for concrete work from the following aspects: improving the public credit assessment system, unifying the rules for public credit assessments, unifying industry credit assessment management, and unifying the channels for public disclosure of public credit assessment results.

Experts assess that this will, at the institutional level, break down market barriers; address the pain points caused by inconsistent assessment rules among different localities and departments and the lack of mutual recognition of results; and consequently enable enterprises with good credit to enjoy more “credit dividends” in areas such as financing and bidding and tendering, while substantially reducing institutional transaction costs.

Regarding the unification of rules for public credit assessments, the Implementation Plan proposes that, in principle, indicator data for public credit assessments should come from public credit information. Where appropriate, other information generated or obtained by relevant departments in the course of fulfilling their duties that can reflect corporate credit conditions may be included within the scope of indicator data. Assessment results, from high to low, are in principle categorized into four levels: “A,” “B,” “C,” and “D.” If assessment results use a scoring system, the score ranges corresponding to the four levels should be clearly specified. For the two assessments of the same entity, the longest interval between them should not exceed one year; where conditions permit, departments may increase assessment frequency according to actual circumstances.

Experts say that on the assessment rules, the Implementation Plan unifies the source of indicator data, the result levels, and the assessment cycle. It also clarifies that the assessment cycle should be no longer than one year, and that the assessment rules should be disclosed to the public. This will allow enterprises to clearly understand where their credit is “good” and where it is “weak.”

The Implementation Plan also proposes accelerating the integration and application of public credit assessments with market-based credit assessments, and encouraging business entities to provide preferential treatment or convenience measures for enterprises with good credit standing in market activities such as bidding and tendering and commercial dealings. At the same time, it seeks to better leverage credit assessments to support the financing of small and micro enterprises. It encourages financial institutions to rely on the network of the national integrated financing credit service platform, to reasonably use public credit assessment results, and to improve the credit granting, risk assessment, and interest and fee pricing models. It also encourages lowering requirements for collateral and guarantee for enterprises with higher credit assessment grades, gradually expanding the coverage of credit loans and increasing the proportion of credit loans.

Yang Chang, Chief Analyst of the Policy Team at CCB International Securities Research Institute (Zhongtai Securities), said in an interview with Shanghai Securities News that establishing a comprehensive corporate credit assessment system will help, from a macro perspective, grasp the overall credit level of enterprises in different regions and of different categories, and implement corresponding policy support in response to changes in overall credit levels. By precisely characterizing companies’ credit conditions, it helps reduce information asymmetry among enterprises, between enterprises and the government, and between enterprises and residents—thereby lowering transaction costs.

(Editor: Wen Jing)

Key words:

                                                            Enterprise
                                                            Credit