A new index system for evaluating small and medium enterprises (SMEs) applying special and sophisticated technologies to produce novel and unique products was unveiled on Sunday at a three-day conference on SME development in Shanghai.

At the conference on the development of SMEs applying special and sophisticated technologies to produce novel and unique products that opened in Shanghai on Sunday, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the new index system as part of its efforts to assess the performance of individual SMEs and the effect of local governments in fostering high-tech SME growth.
"(It aims) to guide local governments in taking into account both the rational growth of quantity and the effective improvement in quality, and carrying out routinized dynamic monitoring over the development quality of enterprises through the quantified index evaluation system, thus guiding them to realize higher quality development," said Liang Zhifeng, head of the Department of Small and Medium Enterprises under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
The result of the evaluation will also serve as a key reference to the allocation of funding to support SMEs using special and sophisticated technologies to produce novel and unique products, and the best performers will be rewarded with real cash, noted an official of the ministry.