Liu Yonghao Proposes Loan Coupons For Farmers

By staff reporter LIU QIONG

    On March Liu Yonghao, board chairman of New Hope Group and a member of CPPCC, raised a proposal to increase farmers’ access to bank loans in a bid to stimulate rural production and consumption.

   He suggested the state award “loan coupons” to farmers who meet particular requirements, including a good credit history. Based on assessment by financial cooperatives on production scale and risks, these coupons entitle their holders loans ranging from a few hundred yuan to several hundreds of thousand yuan.

   Liu also plans to establish a company that provides guarantee service to farmers looking for bank loans. Twelve such companies are now operating in China. “Farmers are among the most honest people,” Liu said from his experience.

Liu Yonghao shows confidence on China's economy.               Photo by Dong Ning

   A prominent figure in China’s agricultural products business, Liu Yonghao has built strong fellowship with farmers after 27 years in the animal husbandry industry. All his seven proposals at this year’s CPPCC session are about farmers, agriculture or the countryside, such as increasing farmers’ income, establishment of a food safety system and employment for rural labors.

   His New Hope Group is one of the largest feed producers in China whose assets reached RMB 24.9 43 billion at the end of 2007. Liu said as a provider of daily necessities, his company has remained largely intact in the financial crisis so far. He predicted a RMB 10 billion rise in its sales income this year, and would add 5,000 more people to its current 60,000 staff members.