BEIJING — A financial service plan was launched on Nov 8 to boost the growth of advanced manufacturing industry in nine cities in the Yangtze River Delta, said the Shanghai Head Office of the People's Bank of China (PBOC).

The plan, the Comprehensive Service Plan for the High-Quality Development of Advanced Manufacturing Industry in the G60 Science and Innovation Corridor in the Yangtze River Delta, was initiated by the Shanghai Head Office of the central bank and jointly developed by nine cities and relevant financial institutions.

The core task of the plan is to promote the development of the advanced manufacturing industry and optimize financial services in the corridor.

With a focus on major scientific innovation and research and development projects, the plan will provide support for start-ups and manufacturing enterprises engaged in artificial intelligence, integrated circuits, biomedicine, high-end equipment, new energy, new materials, and new energy vehicles.

The plan proposes 15 specific measures from four aspects, namely, alleviating the difficulty of financing, reducing the high cost of financing, improving financing suitability and boosting information symmetry.

More will be done to expand the supply of credit resources, and improve the loan interest rate pricing method for science and technology innovation enterprises and advanced manufacturing enterprises, according to the plan.

The "G60 science and technology innovation corridor" was set up in June 2018 to build an integrated development platform in the region. It was named after an expressway, G60, which runs through several cities of the corridor.