Excellence:
Our Commitment to Quality Products and Service
In our pursuit of building an outstanding corporation, we focus on earning the trust of our customers. As a customer- centred organisation, we focus on creating innovative products, services and business models to meet evolving market demand to the fullest extent possible.
Promoting Technological Innovation
To build an outstanding, technology-driven enterprise, we developed our first five-year plan for technological innovation. Under this plan, we have ten major innovation projects, including improvements in automotive manufacturing and the establishment of technological innovation and technological expert committees, as well as a scientific and technological association. We also appointed a chief engineer, created new plans for scientific research, and set up a programme to recognise technological achievements. By promoting innovative technology, we are developing new drivers and growth engines for our company’s future.
Increasing Investment in Research and Development
We have implemented a policy to reinvest profits into research and development, allocating RMB1 billion for research and RMB100 million for annual R&D salaries. This policy incentivises our subsidiary companies to increase their own investments in R&D and undertake strategic, forward-looking technology projects. In 2022, we invested RMB17.8 billion in research and development and set an R&D budget of RMB22.6 billion for 2023, representing an estimated technology investment intensity of over 3%.
Making Breakthroughs in Technology
CITIC Bank is accelerating the conversion of cutting-edge technologies such as quantum computing, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence into tangible products. It has recently developed a blockchain platform, which passed the information innovation assessment of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
CITIC Heavy Industries has successfully developed a seven-axis hydraulic heavy-duty mechanical arm with autonomous and human-machine interaction functions. The technology behind this product is considered to be at the forefront of the international market.
CITIC Agriculture has formed an alliance with leading research institutions to collaborate on tackling key challenges in breeding technology in hybrid rice. Its subsidiary, Longping High-tech, has developed 85 new varieties that have been approved by the state.
Upgrading our Industrial Products
CITIC Dicastal made steady progress on its integration project for large-scale aluminium alloy structural components, including the completion of critical tasks such as the development of non-heat treatment materials, casting moulds and host equipment designs. This integration project has the potential to reduce manufacturing lead times and lower production costs for the automotive industry.
CITIC Limited has been promoting its capabilities as a lighthouse factory (an Industry 4.0 factory on the cutting edge of intelligent manufacturing), using our own platform architecture, core industrial sensors and industrial AI algorithm models. The company has forged a business layout featuring “1+1+5”, which combines “Lighthouse Factory” consulting, industrial Internet platform construction, and the development of core “AI+” products through five major capacities and solutions. This approach enables the digital transformation of industries such as steel and new energy, driving high-end, intelligent, and sustainable growth in traditional manufacturing sectors.
CITIC Environment has developed the CITIC Intelligent Construction Platform based on the National BIM Project. This platform has been utilised in multiple pilot projects and was recognised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development as one of the first intelligent construction/innovative service cases.
CITIC Telecom International has implemented the ICT-MiiND strategy, which will accelerate its transformation from a service provider into an intelligent communications enabler. Its subsidiary, Macau Telecom, has obtained a 5G license that will support Macau’s digital transformation.
Creating Support for Science, Production and Finance
We are harnessing our strengths in manufacturing, finance and innovation to provide financial support that enables specialised/sophisticated companies to produce new and unique products. Emerging industry loans extended by CITIC Bank have so far achieved a YoY increase of 37.3%. What’s more, CITIC Securities and China Securities now lead the industry in the number and amount of sponsored projects on the Science and Technology Innovation Board and the Beijing Stock Exchange.
We have also established a strategic investment platform with a fund-plus-direct investment approach for innovative, early-stage small enterprises. To support industrial incubation and open up new development pathways, we helped establish the CITIC Hangzhou Science and Technology Innovation Fund, with initial funding of RMB5 billion.
We also continued to look for exchange and cooperation opportunities with major scientific research institutes. To date, we have set up 110 research and development institutions and 24 high-tech enterprises, including the National Key Laboratory for Intelligent Mining Heavy Equipment under CITIC Heavy Industries. This facility has contributed to the deep integration of innovation chains, industrial chains, fund chains and talent chains.
CITIC’s Debut at the 2022 World Artificial Intelligence Conference
In June, we hosted the Smart CITIC, Beyond the Possibilities exhibition and forum, featuring technological innovations in smart finance, intelligent manufacturing, smart construction, smart living and digital infrastructure. We also launched the industry’s first digital wealth advisor — Xiao Xin — which received widespread attention across all sectors.
CITIC Wins First Prize 5G Application Competition
CITIC Offshore Helicopter won the first prize in the final of the Zhanfang Cup 5G Application Competition for the 5G + satellite smart aviation solution developed with the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology and China Telecom. The solution is the first to use a self-developed 5G airborne fusion terminal to meet the needs of emergency rescue and offshore operations.
Strengthening Quality Control
CITIC complies fully with all laws, regulations and relevant provisions with regard to product health and safety. To understand and control the health and safety risks we face, we have established a risk management department and incorporated information on major customers, key suppliers, safety production and reputational incidents into the risk management database. We also provide guidance to CITIC Financial Holdings on establishing risk isolation mechanisms that help to ensure the independent operation and management of the company and its subsidiaries, protect customers and prevent the spread of risks. In addition, we have a system and procedures in place that enable us to integrate major quality issues with performance assessments.
We also encourage the adoption of quality management and supervision systems. Several subsidiaries have obtained specialised certifications, such as ISO 9001, ISO 45001, and ISO 14001, to ensure our products and services meet quality, health and safety standards.
| CITIC Dicastal |
√ Devised and developed error prevention methods, specialised inspection procedures, and inspection manuals for product design, process design, and quality inspection. All manufacturing facilities are required to fully utilize these outputs and provide internal training to ensure effective control over product quality.
√ Established a first-piece/first-batch review mechanism to enable risk identification during the initial stage of mass production, thereby promoting continuous improvement and enhancement of the production line. Due to a current shortage of capacity to review the first batch of products for mass production, all affiliated companies are required to create an internal evaluation process for their firstbatch products to guarantee the quality of their initial delivery.
√ By exchanging best practices and lessons learned from factories both at home and abroad, the company promoted “globalisation and localisation” capacity building in quality management for its overseas factories. |
| CITIC Heavy Industries |
√ The company formulated a series of management systems, including the Product Installation and Commissioning Quality Control Management System, the Aftersales Non-conformance Report (NCR) Management Method, and the Product Warranty Management Regulations, while also implementing a recall system for non-conforming products as part of its after-sales services. In 2022, the company revised its Q/HM 19104 Product Quality Warranty Management Regulations and refined the procedures for recalling non-conforming products. Throughout the year, a total of 166 sets of products were installed and commissioned at customer sites without any incidents of non-conforming product recalls.
√ The company has designated its quality department to oversee the entire quality planning process, process monitoring, and final product acceptance. Any materials, parts, or components that fail to meet the required standards are immediately identified, recorded, reviewed, isolated, and properly disposed of. This ensures that only qualified materials and raw materials are used for production, only products that meet the criteria from previous processes are advanced to the next stage, only up-to-standard parts and components are assembled into the final product, and only products meeting the necessary specifications are delivered to customers. |
Meeting the Demands of Customers
The collaborative sharing platform, CITIC Synergy+, was established in 2022 as the first group-level business operation and control platform with mobility features and intelligent capabilities. It integrates functions such as collaborative information aggregation, command and dispatch, and ecosystem development, with the goal of providing our customers with better, more comprehensive services. Since its launch, the system has attracted 100,000 activated users with a total of 400,000 logins.
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Achievements in 2022 |
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| Shared customers | 11,779 |
| Collaborative projects | 497 |
| Shared products | 947 |
| Experts | 721 |
| Excellent collaborative cases | 1,164 |
| Research reports | 848 |
At CITIC Heavy Industries, we established a quick response mechanism and marketing services synergy management platform. require our teams to develop service plans within a half work day so that they can provide feedback to customers within two work days. For on-site solutions, we insist that our teams arrive at customer locations within 48 hours. To meet the needs of our overseas customers, we have companies, offices and spare parts service bases in countries and regions such as Australia, Brazil and Peru.
In 2022, CITIC Pacific Special Steel held a strategic user seminar to present its current management situation and future development plans to its customers. More than 660 representatives from over 320 organisations attended the event and expressed their interest in forging deeper partnerships.
Safeguarding Financial Consumers
Protecting the financial rights and interests of consumers is a critical issue for the sustainable development of the financial industry. Any significant business risk that is not adequately addressed and resolved can have a profound impact on financial institutions.At CITIC, we prioritise transparency and honesty in all our dealings with customers and continually reinforce our efforts to safeguard the interests of financial consumers. In 2022, we established CITIC Financial Holdings to oversee the initiatives of our financial subsidiaries, including CITIC Bank and CITIC Securities, and urged them to take proactive measures in customer service, private information protection and investor education. Furthermore, we remain committed to investing in financial technology to provide customers with a seamless, advanced experience that ensures their safety and protection.
Building an Institutional Framework for Consumer Protection
CITIC Bank has developed a comprehensive institutional framework consisting of system, Administrative Measures for the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Consumers, Administrative Measures on the Protection of Consumer Financial Information, Administrative Measures of Accountability for Violations of Consumer Rights and Interests Pprotection, and Rules of Procedure of the Working Committee on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests to ensure effective control and governance across all stages of its operations. Among others, these systems cover key areas such as consumer protection, information disclosure, complaint management, consumer financial information protection, and financial literacy education.
Enhancing Service Quality
CITIC Bank is committed to upholding its Customer First core value by constantly improving its customer service culture and experience models, and infusing customer relationship management and consumer protection awareness into its products and services.
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Certification training for job qualifications |
√ In 2022, we launched 1,031 new certification training courses and increased the number of available online courses to 3,992. √ To give all employees the opportunity to take relevant job qualification certification exams, we established examination centres in 77 cities nationwide and helped 12,198 employees complete these exams. |
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| Specialized Training |
√ We developed and distributed the latest Service Quality Standards Manual to every frontline employee, so they are able to deliver standardised quality services to customers on a daily basis. √ We conduct at least one training session on consumer rights protection annually, covering all levels of management, frontline employees and new hires. In 2022, CITIC Bank launched consumer protection training and an examination programme for all employees. Topics covered included regulatory policies, consumer financial information protection and complaint handling. About 55,000 employees passed the examination. √ We organised 3,386 training sessions on business, products and protocols for specialised staff members, with a total attendance of 824,000 person-times. |
On 9 January 2023, CITIC Financial Holdings held the first CITIC Wealth Cup Wealth (Financial) Advisor Competition for its financial subsidiaries. The aim of the competition was to motivate wealth advisors to improve their professional skills and expertise.
Reviewing New Products and Services
In accordance with its commitment to responsible business practices, CITIC Bank established a dedicated Consumer Rights Protection Office that is accountable to the Board of Directors, which oversees the review of new products and services.
In 2022, the Board reviewed the Consumer Protection Work Plan for the year and made enhancements to the consumer protection reviews a top priority. The management of CITIC Bank provides semi-annual summaries of their work on consumer rights protection to the Board, covering key points on consumer protection incidents and their implementation status ahead of the review. During the year, CITIC Bank carried out 10,853 consumer protection reviews, a YoY increase of 287.05%. The review acceptance rate was 100%, an increase of nearly 4% from the previous year.
Ensuring Fair Marketing
We comply fully with laws and regulations on marketing and advertising, including Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China. We also conduct rigorous reviews of the advertising content and promotional materials of marketing campaigns to ensure we are providing customers with truthful and comprehensive information on our products.
CITIC Bank takes responsibility for financial marketing and advertising through its product, customer and channel departments. The Retail Finance Department, also known as the Consumer Rights Protection Office, oversees consumer protection-related aspects of financial marketing and advertising, including pre-review, in-process supervision and post-supervision.
To ensure its marketing practices are fair, CITIC Bank has developed management measures to strengthen the pre- review of marketing and advertising campaigns and enhance in-process and post-supervision. Inspections of existing products and services are carried out to ensure compliance with regulations. Sales of products that fail to meet our standards or infringe consumers’ rights and interests are immediately suspended.
Furthermore, CITIC Bank conducts specialised education and training for marketing personnel during the launch of new products/services as well as training that improves their professional competencies with regard to consumer protection.
Improving Customer Debt Management and Post-loan Modification
Post-loan Modification
CITIC Bank offers customers the option of making post-loan modifications as needed, and will conduct a risk assessment before changing eligible loan provisions or information. To improve the customer experience, the Bank makes it possible for customers to modify loan applications through its mobile banking service, personal e-banking and offline branches. For customers unable to apply for repayment plan adjustments on-site due to uncontrollable factors, the Bank allows conditional processing and provides a “make-up afterwards” option.
Credit Card Collection
CITIC Bank provides clear guidance on the strategy, process and methods for credit card collection. It has also developed operational norms for the credit card collection business to ensure it is conducted in a compliant and orderly manner.
Training is provided to both the Bank’s employees and third-party collection agency employees on credit card debt collection. These training programmes include face-to-face, video and digital sessions, covering a range of topics such as banking fundamentals, the credit card collection process, performance evaluation and management requirements, and consumer rights. The Bank’s goal with this training is to enhance employees’ professional competencies, compliance awareness and risk management capabilities.
Personal Loan Collection
CITIC Bank has established a comprehensive management system for the collection of personal loans. This system provides guidance on recovering personal loans that have gone into default as well as outsourcing to collection agencies, among other topics. To meet the evolving needs of the personal loan business, the Bank has created a management module for digital collection across the entire business.
Within this system are collection strategies for different personal loan products, risk classifications and other factors. Customers and loans are managed in a stratified manner, and outstanding loans are either collected inhouse or outsourced based on management requirements and different risk performances. We have also established a personal loan collection management and training mechanism that provides online and offline training each year to staff in the personal loan business line. The training covers multiple areas, including management regulations, business processes, system functions and operational risk prevention and control.
Third party partner institutions are routinely checked to ensure they comply with business regulations, information security protocols and consumer rights protection. Training in these areas is also provided to these organisations. This ensures all collection operations are conducted in a legal and compliant manner, while promoting the healthy and orderly development of the personal loan businesses.
Customer Complaint Management
The Consumer Rights Protection Committee under CITIC Bank’s Board of Directors regularly reviews work summaries on how customer complaints are managed. Branches with high complaint volumes are required to conduct root cause analyses and are monitored for subsequent rectification. The Bank has also established management measures for resolving personal customer complaints and ensuring compliance with the regulations of the Office of China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.
Customers can file complaints through various channels of the Bank, both online and offline. Upon receiving a complaint, the relevant department will promptly handle and follow up the matter. In 2022, CITIC Bank received 322,165 customer complaints, of which 36.3% were related to the debit card business and 63.7% to the credit card business. The overall customer complaint settlement rate for the year was 99.92%, while the overall number of complaints increased by 4.04% compared with the previous year. The most common complaints in the debit card business were related to account management and usage, personal loan repayment extensions due to the pandemic, removal of credit records and early repayment. In the credit card business, the main complaints were related to account collection, interest fees and account management.
In addition to developing a customer complaint reporting and handling system, CITIC Securities conducts regular customer satisfaction surveys. In 2022, the satisfaction rates for customers who opened accounts through mobile phones, made inquiries via telephone and used online consulting services all surpassed 99%. The overall satisfaction rate was 99.4%, showing client's recognition of the company.
CITIC Trust recently revised its system for managing complaints with a focus on improving the efficiency of the complaint-handling process. It has also established a consumer rights protection committee for coordinating complaint management work. Moreover, the Market Management Department created a position dedicated to managing and tracking all consumer complaints. Complaint channels are displayed prominently on the company’s platforms, including wealth centres, official websites and mobile apps, so that customers understand the procedures for filing complaints.
Investors´ Education
We provide financial education and awareness through a variety of channels to give investors a better understanding of financial products such as stocks, funds and bonds. The main focus of our financial education programmes is to raise investors’ risk awareness and decision-making capabilities. We also target special groups, such as migrant workers, disabled people, the elderly and students, who have specific financial education needs.
CITIC Bank organised 10,340 public education and awareness activities that reached a total of 426 million consumers and generated over 95.97 million clicks for online events. As the exclusive strategic partner bank of the China National Committee on Ageing, CITIC Bank jointly published Financial Knowledge for the Elderly and Mastering Smartphones – A Guide to a Happy Life for the Elderly.
CITIC Securities published 36 articles on its WeChat public account, which received a total of 86,200 views. The company also produced 13 short videos in the Understanding Listed Company Reports series, which generated about 163,700 views, and organised 12 investment education live-streaming events that attracted around 80,000 viewers.
China Securities hosted 25 live-streaming “Cloud Visits”, with a combined online and offline attendance of 54,991 person-times. It also hosted 5,603 public educational events on investment topics that reached more than 50 million people. A total of 2,805 online investment educational materials were released, attracting a readership of over 230 million. Another public welfare event, the College Student Debate on Investor Education, reached almost 15 million people on Weibo.
During the year, CITIC-Prudential Life Insurance launched a Consumer Education Express/Consumer Protection Column, a consumer education programme featuring a quarterly newsletter Consumer Protection News as well as a consumer protection training course. Other training programmes and promotions focused on compliance through a publication called Compliance Promotions.
Safeguarding Customer Information
Our information security management framework includes a data security management strategy covering the entire data lifecycle, from management architecture, data processing and application systems to terminal services. We also formed a committee responsible for digital information security, including customer personal information. Management measures introduced under this strategy provide clear guidelines for data processing, security and legal compliance related to customer information.
Our subsidiaries, including CITIC Securities, China Securities and CITIC-Prudential Life Insurance, have all obtained ISO 27001 international information security certification.
CITIC Bank has developed an electronic banking privacy policy for regulating the collection, storage and use of customers’ personal information as well as the corresponding measures to be taken for safeguarding customer privacy. The Bank’s rigorous approach includes the implementation of strict network controls and deployment of security devices to detect and respond to network security threats. Regular vulnerability scans are also conducted proactively to identify high-risk issues in its internal systems, hosts, networks, applications and user passwords. By making use of a range of monitoring and protection techniques, the Bank is able to monitor and respond to both internal and external attacks and address vulnerabilities in real-time.
CITIC Securities has updated over 90 strategy documents and assembled a dedicated cybersecurity risk assessment team, which conducts daily inspections of its data centre and computer rooms. The company also has unified backup services in accordance with national-level protection requirements.
China Securities conducts special audits not less than once a year to ensure all information technology management matters are audited within a three-year period. On top of this, the company engages external professional institutions for conducting comprehensive audits of its data security every three years.
CITIC-Prudential Life Insurance regularly reviews and investigates application system permissions, strengthens the management of personnel authorisations, and standardises customer information inquiries and usage, thereby effectively safeguarding the security of customer information.