Shenzhen is selecting a batch of competent and resourceful fund management companies to invest in biomedicine, smart sensors, synthetic biology and new energy vehicle industries.
The scale of funds in these industries is estimated to reach 16.5 billion yuan (US$2.36 billion), according to the launching ceremony of the “20+8” industrial fund cluster at the 22nd China Venture Capital and Private Equity Annual Forum, which opened in Nanshan District on Wednesday.
“The city will follow the concept of ‘at least one auxiliary supporting fund for one industrial cluster’ to form a fund cluster at a scale of over 100 billion yuan, covering 20 strategic emerging industries and eight future industries,” Dai Jintao, director of the Shenzhen finance bureau, said at the forum.
The funds designated for investment in one specific industrial cluster should be no lower than 80% of the scale of the funds that can be invested, according to Dai.
In 2023, the city will complete the selection of fund companies for investments in other industries like new energy, new materials and high-end medical equipment. The fund cluster will basically cover the “20+8” industries.
To relieve fund companies’ difficulties in raising funds and ensure the operation of new funds, government-backed guidance fund companies at the municipal and district levels can contribute up to 70% of the total funds, according to the finance bureau’s plan released at the forum, which was scheduled to wrap up Friday.
This June, the city issued guidelines on developing 20 strategic emerging industrial clusters and fostering eight future industries that will be the backbone of the city’s industrial and technological revolutions.
The 20 strategic emerging industrial clusters cover fields as network and communications, semiconductors and integrated circuits, ultra-high-definition video displays, intelligent terminals, smart sensors, software and information services, digital creativity, fashion, machine tools, smart robotics and laser additive manufacturing.
The eight future industries identified by the authorities include synthetic biology, blockchain, cells and genes, aerospace technologies, neuroscience and brain-inspired intelligence, underground and deepwater explorations, visible light communication and optical computing, and quantum information.