A special fund, totaling 10 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion), has been jointly set up by China and Sweden to boost the development of technology and innovation, Chinanews.com reported.

The agreement was signed by representatives from Shenzhen Investment Holdings Co. Ltd. and Nordic Growth Technology Partners (NGT), a subsidiary of Accelerated Innovation Group on Sept. 26.

With two parallel branches established in Sweden and Shenzhen, the fund mainly invests in health, new materials and clean technology, for which Sweden has advantages due to strong research support from Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and its innovation system.

Niclas Adler, chairman of NGT, said Sweden boasts abundant resources and advantages in the health field, while China has a huge market, thus the two sides are highly complementary in economic development. Additionally, the fund will facilitate the industrialization of Swedish scientific achievements in China.

Wang Yongjian, chairman of Shenzhen Investment Holdings, said the fund is committed to attracting high-quality projects from overseas to settle in Shenzhen.

Peng Haibin, director of the city’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, said that Shenzhen is a gathering place for high-tech industries. The city aims to promote the development of strategic emerging industries and to build an innovation hub for science and technology.

(Zhang Yu)