On March 29, the Central Enterprises Indigent Area Industry Investment Fund (Central Enterprises Poverty Alleviation Fund) successfully completed the second phase of fundraising. The scale of fundraising in two phases reached RMB 15.4 billion, and its shareholders have expanded to all central enterprises under the supervision of State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council and certain central enterprises the Ministry of Finance perform the functions of investors. In total, there are 104 central enterprises.

After more than one year of operation and exploration, the Central Enterprises Poverty Alleviation Fund has invested in 41 projects in the amount of RMB 8.6 billion. Its confirmed and approved projects have covered 26 provinces (municipalities, autonomous regions), realizing a complete coverage of 14 concentrated special poverty strickened areas. After these investment projects are put into operation, it is expected to create employment for 200,000 indigents directly or indirectly, providing total average annual income of RMB 1.26 billion and contributing an average annual revenue of RMB 1.1 billion to the local government. In the next three years, the Central Enterprises Poverty Alleviation Company will thoroughly implement the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, take Jinping Xi’s thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for the new era as a guide, remain true to its original aspiration and keep its mission firmly in mind, and enhance its political stance and strengthen its mission. It will concentrate on poverty reduction and targeted poverty alleviation, further explore and improve the pattern of poverty alleviation through industrial development, and build the brand of central enterprise poverty alleviation so that it is able to find a new road to nurture agriculture by industry and make new and larger contributions to win the tough battle of targeted poverty alleviation.

The initiation to invest and set up the Central Enterprises Poverty Alleviation Fund in 2016 and the second phase of fundraising this time have fully demonstrated central enterprises’ political and social responsibilities as the “eldest son” of PRC. Central enterprises will continue to nurture and support the operational management and development of the Central Enterprises Poverty Alleviation Fund. At the same time, it is hoped that the Fund and central enterprises’ businesses can have an organic combination so as to jointly promote competitive industries to take root and yield fruits in poor areas and to contribute the power of central enterprises in the poverty alleviation for the vast number of poverty-stricken areas and all indigent populations to emerge from poverty permanently.

As the legal adviser of the Central Enterprises Poverty Alleviation Fund, East & Concord provided comprehensive legal services for the establishment of the fund and its second phase of fundraising. Partner Xiaodong Hu and Partner Meiying Zhang were in charge of the project, and Associate Xianxi Li also contributed to this project.