[Mainland China] The Ministry of Water Resources and the Agricultural Bank of China Jointly Issue a Notice on Financial Services for the Water-Saving Industry: RMB 300 Billion in Intentional Credit Lines for the "15th Five-Year Plan" Period, with Loan Ter

The General Office of the Ministry of Water Resources and the Office of Agricultural Bank of China jointly issued the "Notice on Doing a Good Job in Financial Services for the High-Quality Development of the Water-Saving Industry" (Ban Jieyue [2026] No. 148), specifying seven key support areas. Agricultural Bank of China strives to provide an RMB 3000亿 intentional credit line to water-saving and water supply related fields during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period; for key water-saving projects included in national planning, the loan term can be up to 45年, and the capital ratio can be reduced to as low as 15%.

I. Implementation of National-Level Government-Bank Collaboration: One Notice Connects the Entire Water-Saving Industry Chain

2026年10月1日, the official website of the Ministry of Water Resources published a CCTV Finance report; 10月9日, the official website of the National Water Conservation Office released the full text of the document — the "Notice on Doing a Good Job in Financial Services for the High-Quality Development of the Water-Saving Industry" (Ban Jieyue [2026] No. 148) jointly issued by the General Office of the Ministry of Water Resources and the Office of Agricultural Bank of China was officially made public. This document marks that government-bank collaboration in the water-saving field has upgraded from scattered local pilots to a national-level financial support arrangement covering the entire industry chain.

The background of the notice is clear: in order to thoroughly implement the relevant requirements of the "Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China," carry out the water governance approach of "water conservation priority, spatial balance, systematic governance, and both hands working together," fully implement the rigid water resource constraint system and the "Water Conservation Regulations," and based on the overall situation of financial services serving the real economy, green development, and comprehensive rural revitalization, expand green financial supply.

What the industry should note is the document's formulation of the industrial goal — "help build a modern water-saving industrial system with advanced manufacturing as its backbone." This statement pushes water conservation from the traditional category of engineering investment to the industrial category of equipment manufacturing, technical services, and operation management, meaning that the allocation logic of financial resources will change accordingly.

II. Seven Key Support Areas: Wastewater Reclamation and Reuse Listed Separately

The notice focuses on the development goals and key tasks of the water-saving industry, specifying seven key support areas, achieving full coverage from water source to user and from engineering to equipment:

• Agricultural water conservation and efficiency improvement — water-saving irrigation, water-saving renovation of irrigation districts, drought-tolerant crop breeding and planting, water conservation in animal husbandry and fisheries, rural water supply (including integrated urban-rural water supply), rural domestic water conservation, etc.; with key support for high-efficiency water-saving irrigation projects in areas with severe water shortages and overload, groundwater overexploitation areas, major grain-producing areas, and ecologically fragile areas.
• Industrial water conservation and emission reduction — water-saving renovation of industrial parks and enterprises, construction of water-saving industrial enterprises and parks, industrial enterprise wastewater recycling, centralized treatment and utilization of wastewater in industrial parks, water intake and use monitoring and metering; explicitly supporting water-saving renovation and unconventional water substitution in parks of high water-consuming industries such as thermal power generation, steel, textiles, papermaking, petrochemicals and chemicals, building materials, and non-ferrous metals.
• Urban water conservation and loss reduction — water-saving renovation of public facilities and institutions, construction of digital and intelligent water affairs platforms, replacement of water-saving fixtures in communities, adaptive renovation for water budget management; supporting leakage monitoring and control of public water supply networks, as well as renovation of high water-consuming service industries such as hotels, swimming venues, car washes, bathhouses, universities, and outdoor artificial ski resorts.
• Development and utilization of unconventional water — wastewater reclamation and reuse, rainwater harvesting and utilization, direct seawater utilization, seawater desalination utilization, mine (well) water treatment and utilization, brackish water treatment and utilization, unconventional water metering and monitoring.
• Water-saving equipment manufacturing enterprises — enterprise entities oriented to the backbone links of advanced manufacturing.
• Water-saving service enterprises — entities providing service support for new business forms such as contract-based water conservation management.
• Water conservation in major strategic regions — water-saving projects serving major national regional strategies.

For the wastewater treatment and reclaimed water reuse industry, "development and utilization of unconventional water" is listed as a separate major area, and it is explicitly stated to "focus on promoting the construction of wastewater reclamation and reuse projects, support the construction of the reclaimed water allocation system in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and provide funding guarantees for improving the quality and efficiency of wastewater treatment and large-scale reclaimed water reuse in various regions" — this is the most direct favorable indication in this policy.

III. Seven Aspects of Financial Support: Term, Interest Rate, and Capital Ratio All Relaxed Simultaneously

The notice provides specific green financial support measures from seven aspects, among which three quantitative indicators have the greatest impact on project investment calculations:

• Credit Line — Agricultural Bank of China strives to provide an intended credit line support of RMB 3000亿 to water conservation and water supply related fields during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period.
• Loan Term — Differentiated arrangements shall be implemented. The loan term for key water conservation projects included in national plans may be up to 45年, and that for key projects in provincial plans up to 35年.
• Capital Ratio — Generally 20% shall apply. For eligible projects that shore up weak links in people's livelihood, on the premise of stable returns and controllable risks, the capital ratio may be further lowered by no more than 5 percentage points, i.e., down to a minimum of 15%.
• Loan Interest Rate — Differentiated pricing policies shall be granted to eligible water conservation projects and enterprises to help reduce the financing costs of the water conservation industry.
• Comprehensive Financial Services — Give play to the advantages of the group, broaden financing channels, and ensure the implementation of supporting financing and cross-border comprehensive financial services.
• Service Model Innovation — Innovate and promote the green financial product "Water Conservation Loan", explore pledge and guarantee by rights such as water use rights and the water efficiency-linked incentive loan model, support water infrastructure Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) in revitalizing existing water assets, and provide a package of services including bond underwriting, financial leasing, and financial advisory.
• Customer Service — Implement tiered customer preferential treatment for leading water conservation enterprises, specialized and sophisticated "little giant" enterprises, and single-champion enterprises; include major water conservation projects in the head office's major project list; and enjoy differentiated policies in customer access, rating, credit line, repayment plan, etc., with loan approval handled on a priority or fast-track basis.

IV. Three Safeguard Mechanisms and Two Risk Bottom Lines

In addition to fund placement, the notice proposes three safeguard mechanisms: establishing a regular government-bank liaison and consultation mechanism, a project demand matching mechanism, and a risk prevention and control mechanism. Water conservancy and water affairs departments at all levels and Agricultural Bank branches will share project information on a regular basis, establish a recommendation mechanism for water conservation enterprises and key projects, and break down data barriers between departments.

At the same time, two risk bottom lines are clearly defined: strictly prohibit new hidden debts of local governments; strictly control credit orientation and do not support water-related projects in the elimination category. This constraint reminds market participants that policy dividends will be precisely directed to projects with advanced technology, compliance, and sustainable cash flow, rather than simply transfusing existing production capacity.

V. Three Industry Observations: Water Conservation Moving from a "Conceptual Account" to an "Economic Account"

First, the extension of financing terms is changing the boundary of project feasibility. Wastewater treatment and reclaimed water projects generally feature high investment intensity and long payback periods. A loan term of 45年 coupled with a minimum capital ratio of 15% will significantly lower the threshold for a project's internal rate of return on total investment, making projects such as reclaimed water pipe networks and high-quality industrial water supply, which previously "could not be justified on the books," financially feasible.

Second, "water efficiency linkage" and "water use right pledge" are tool innovations worthy of close attention. Such designs directly convert water conservation results into financing conditions, meaning that an enterprise's water use efficiency management and metering and monitoring capabilities will substantively affect its financing costs, forcing water-using entities to improve their metering systems. For enterprises engaged in contract-based water conservation management and the construction of digital and intelligent water affairs platforms, this is a certain expansion on the demand side.

Third, the focus of the water conservation industry is shifting from "engineering" to "equipment + services." The notice lists water conservation equipment manufacturing enterprises and water conservation service enterprises each as a major support area, which, combined with the industrial positioning statement of "taking advanced manufacturing as the backbone," indicates that the policy intent is not merely to support a number of projects, but to cultivate a complete modern water conservation industrial system. Enterprises with core membrane material, high-efficiency equipment, and operational algorithm capabilities will gain greater weight in this round of financial resource allocation.

TIANYI LIMITED has long been deeply engaged in the fields of wastewater treatment and reclaimed water reuse. Centering on three major directions — low-carbon processes, resource recovery, and smart operations — it provides full-chain services from solution design, equipment manufacturing, and engineering construction to operation management for municipal wastewater treatment plants, industrial parks, and various water-using entities. With the goal of "stable compliance, energy saving and consumption reduction, and resource recycling," the company continues to help customers reduce operating costs and enhance system resilience in the green and low-carbon transition.

Source: Compiled from the Ministry of Water Resources official website "Water Conservation Industry Receives Financial Support, Ministry of Water Resources Issues Document to Support Seven Major Areas" (2026年10月1日), the National Water Conservation Office "Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Water Resources and the Office of Agricultural Bank of China on Doing a Good Job in Financial Services for the High-Quality Development of the Water Conservation Industry" (Ban Jie Yue [2026] No. 148, 2026年10月9日), and related reports from China Water Resources News.