Mizuho Bank (China), Ltd., a subsidiary of Mizuho Bank, Ltd. (President & CEO: Koji Fujiwara), signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for business cooperation with Shanghai UDC Business Consulting Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, "UDC") on November 29, 2018.
UDC is a state–owned consulting company established in January 2003 as a subsidiary of Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone Group Co., Ltd.–a local developer controlled by the committee which supervises China's first free trade zone. UDC has relations with more than 8,000 companies within the free trade zone and is engaged in various activities to support companies investing in the zone, foreign companies participating in collaboration projects in third countries, local companies expanding or investing outside China, and local startups.
Mizuho has a solid track record of doing business with several hundred Chinese companies. Leveraging our advisory and corporate banking network in both China and Japan, we provide information to and support Chinese and Japanese companies in finding business partners.
This MOU will provide a further opportunity for us to connect Japanese companies with Chinese companies interested in entering the Japanese market and partnering with Japanese banks.
Currently, a number of FinTech startups are appearing in Shanghai and other areas in China against the backdrop of advanced mobile payment and other new services. There are also many startups in such fields as software, biotechnology, and online–to–offline applications.
We are enhancing support to startup companies, having signed an MOU with a government agency in Hong Kong in early November for this purpose. We will accelerate our support to local startups in the Shanghai area and support investors seeking investment opportunities, thereby contributing to the further economic and industrial development of both China and Japan.