supporting local public corporations that have incurred sub- stantial damage due to the Great East Japan Earthquake for  their recovery, in accordance with the recovery plan submitted  by each prefecture, including Miyagi Prefecture, with which  we executed a Cooperative Agreement for the Promotion of  Industry in fiscal 2008. growing Chinese market will further accelerate in the foreseeable  future. In order to more effectively meet the needs of such clients  whose business straddles the Japanese and Chinese markets,  in fiscal 2010, SMBC transferred its business responsibilities  for the planning, promotion, and management of transactions  between its Chinese subsidiary of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking  Corporations (China) Limited and Japanese corporate clients  from the International Banking Unit to the Corporate Banking  Unit. The same was done for the Hong Kong and Taipei  branches in fiscal 2011. The Shenzhen Branch of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking  Corporation (China) Limited began its business operations on  May 20, 2011. Under the Group network, including branches in  Hong Kong and Guangzhou, we are strengthening our support  for our clients’ businesses in southern China. In banking operations, we established a “Fund for  Supporting Companies Expanding their Business Operations in  China” in cooperation with Chinese companies in fiscal 2010.  The fund provides for equity and other types of investments for  Japanese companies expanding their businesses into China.  We also support such Japanese companies in Japan and China  by providing them with necessary assistance and support for  the globalization of their businesses. We continue to compre- hensively provide our customized services to our clients by  supporting their head offices in Japan and business operations  in China. SMBC and SMBC Nikko Securities jointly held their first  “IPO Seminar” in February 2011. The seminar was held for  IPO Navigator members with speakers from SMBC Nikko  Securities and the Japan Research Institute. It was extremely  successful and attended by approximately 120 members  mostly from eastern Japan. We also held our second seminar  in Osaka in July 2011 especially  for our clients in western Japan,  in order to continue supporting  our clients who are planning for  IPO by providing them with high- quality information and content. ◆  IPO Seminars Topics ◆  Launching of the “SMBC Food and Agricultural  Assessment Loan” Enhanced Initiatives for the Public and  Financial Sectors SMBC has launched its “SMBC Food and Agricultural  Assessment Loan,” a type of loan which offers favorable  terms and conditions based on the assessment results of  surveys and interviews on the level of contributions made  by the borrower in the areas of food or agricultural improve- ments, in accordance with the assessment standards set  forth by the Japan Research Institute. We approved our first  such loan to Asahi Breweries, Ltd., who contributed to the  designing of the loan by giving us their opinions. SMBC will continue to support initiatives for “improve- ments of eating habits” and the “development of the agricul- tural, forestry and fisheries industries” in Japan by providing  the “SMBC Food and Agricultural Assessment Loan.” As our Japanese economy continuously evolves, the responsibil- ities of local government and financial institutions are becoming  more sophisticated and diversified. We believe that an exten- sive international network, and accurate and timely collection  of information are necessary for supporting regional industrial  promotion, attracting companies, building social infrastructure,  creating environmental measures, and supporting local compa- nies expanding their businesses into overseas markets. In order to respond to the needs of our clients, the Group  provides diverse services by using its networks in Japan and  overseas, while pursuing alliances with local government agen- cies and financial institutions. We executed an alliance agree- ment with the city of Kita-Kyushu in June 2011 for the industrial  promotion of Kita-Kyushu, which strategically plans to further  develop its growing industries. Since fiscal 2010, we have also  established operational alliances with the Kansai Urban Banking  Corporation, Mie Bank, Ltd. and four other banks to better  support companies expanding their businesses into overseas  markets. Our bank Group also offers diverse services for public ben- efit corporations which are faced with the need to modify their  business or financial strategies due to the recent amendments  to regulations governing such corporations. Our initiatives for the current fiscal year are focused on  IPO seminar Assessment explanation and  discussion Loan Certificate awarded to Asahi Breweries, Ltd. SMFG  2011 11