Shanghai's Pudong New Area granted 301 government-guaranteed loans to local startups projects in 2016, a surge of 95.45 percent compared to the number in 2015, according to data provided by Pudong New Area Human Resources and Social Security Bureau.

The data placed the area first amongst Shanghai's districts and helps to demonstrate the extent to which Pudong is acting in the financial interest of small local businesses.

The increase in loans can be attributed to the decision of Pudong authorities to lower the threshold for loan applications.

Although the number of loans has risen, the amount of each loan is lower than that of 2015, which indicates that local authorities have enhanced the level of loan supervision they provide.

The government-guaranteed loan policy was first launched by the Shanghai government in 2000 and aims at helping startups to raise money during their early stages of development.

Young entrepreneurs are considered as major beneficiaries of the policy. Indeed, forty percent of the entrepreneurs who obtained government-guaranteed loans in Pudong in 2016 were under the age of 35.