Funds set up to help Guangdong firms

GUANGZHOU: Guangdong province, which accounts for a quarter of China's total foreign trade, will set up two funds worth 1.9 billion yuan ($278 million) to support its exporters this year amid the global financial crisis, a senior official said yesterday.

One of the funds, totaling 900 million yuan, will be primarily used to bolster exports of technology-intensive and branded products, competitive traditional products and labor-intensive products, Ou Bin, deputy director of the Guangdong financial department, said.

It will also be used to help manufacturers of household appliances and textiles to tap into the global market and improve their overseas marketing and sales networks, he said.