On October 26, under the overall planning and guidance of the People’s Bank of China, ICBC, Red Cross Society of China, WULIANGYE Group, SF Express, Baidu Inc, CNR, Benlai.com and Tootoo.cn gathered in Chengdu to form the “Targeted Poverty-Alleviation Alliance”. Taking financial institutions, mainstream media, leading enterprises, logistics companies, NGOs as core members and the e-commerce platform of ICBC Mall the main online carrier, the alliance aims to develop an eco-chain for industrial poverty-alleviation, featuring “large banks + central media + logistics channel + direct marketing”.

Hu Hao, Vice President of ICBC, said during his speech that, ICBC has been resolutely carrying out policies and deployments of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council in recent years to support poverty-alleviation by adopting multiple measures. While leveraging comprehensive financial service advantages and resorting to the abundant resources and special industries in impoverished areas, ICBC has blazed a new trail in poverty alleviation combining financial, educational, industrial and hygiene poverty-alleviation. In the targeted poverty-alleviation area set up by the Head Office in Sichuan, ICBC has supported a variety of infrastructure and livelihood projects including 17 Hope Primary Schools, and 12 middle and primary schools’ dormitories and teaching buildings, conducting breeding projects such as Tongjiang organic pigs and Jinyang pepper, and implementing various health nonprofit projects such as “Health Express Train” and “Maternal and Infant Health”. In the first half of 2018, ICBC’s loan balance for financial poverty-alleviation and impoverished areas stood at nearly RMB145 billion and over RMB52 billion respectively. The accumulated donation for the four targeted poverty-alleviation counties, namely Tongjiang, Nanjiang, Wanyuan and Jinyang, amounted to RMB180 million; and more than 160 poverty-alleviation officials were dispatched to help with the efforts.

According to the introduction, ICBC, as an initiator of the Alliance, will further establish a sound operation mechanism for the Alliance, thus ensuring close cooperation and efficient coordination among its members, and putting into practice its work plans. The Alliance will provide comprehensive financial services for merchants from impoverished areas, conduct the “industrial development campaign” and “poor families assisting campaign”, provide free agency operations and 30% discount for logistics services, and hold specialized training on e-commerce. Besides, the publicity departments of the central media and the members will strive to establish brands for featured products from impoverished counties.

Since its launching, ICBC Mall has offered online sale for featured products from impoverished areas, implemented the “dual exemption” of the service charge and security deposit for merchants from more than 800 impoverished counties nationwide, and set up “green channels” for merchants from impoverished counties to complete online procedures within two weeks. At present, the number of merchants from impoverished counties on the “ICBC Mall” platform has reached over 500, covering 281 state-level impoverished counties in 21 provinces, cities and autonomous regions, with a commodity category of over 7,600 featuring agricultural products and countryside tourist products.