The first small-loans company in Heilongjiang province aimed at supporting Sino-Russian trade opened in Harbin, the provincial capital, on Wednesday.

Harbin Longtou Small-loan Co Ltd, with registered capital of 200 million yuan ($32 million), will mainly handle small loans, bills discounting and asset transfer.

Local authorities expect the move to ease tension over funding in small- and medium-sized enterprises running Russian-related business, and breathe new life into the province’s cooperation with Russia.

Heilongjiang has 18 frontier ports on the Russian border.