Qianhai to boost copyright industry and Sci-tech enterprises

The copyright and Sci-tech industries are expected to boom in Qianhai as the Authority of Qianhai announced yesterday morning the construction of a base for copyright development and the launch of two funding platforms for financing sci-tech enterprises.

At yesterday’s signing ceremony in Qianhai, the National Copyright Innovation and Development Base was inaugurated and two funding platforms were launched after the authority signed two contracts with Hong Kong X Foundation, Shenzhen Hong Kong Investment Federation and Oriental Fortune Capital.

“The approval of the National Copyright Administration to set up the base in Qianhai, Shenzhen, is mainly attributed to Shenzhen’s good industrial foundation,” said Lin Xuxi, CEO of Xiamen Anne Corp. Ltd., who is planning to relocate the core departments of her company to Qianhai. “Qianhai is a promising area with huge market potential, which is expected to explore new models and promote the industrial development through copyright services”, she said.

The two funding platforms will provide financial support to international entrepreneur teams and quality sci-tech enterprises in the fields of intelligent systems and chips, advanced materials, comprehensive health, artificial intelligence and fintech, which are expected to settle and grow in Qianhai.

Samson Tam, a partner of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen United Investment Fund, said that his 100-strong investor team has prepared a fund of 1 billion yuan (US$141 million) to attract more Hong Kong-based companies to settle in Qianhai. He believes that the combination of the financial services in Qianhai and the sci-tech enterprises is an effective method for enterprise growth.

“The inauguration of the base and the launch of the two funding platforms reflect that the country has placed great expectations on Qianhai,” said Ni Yong, vice director of the Qianhai authority, adding that the two measures serve as a response to the Central Government’s requirement to develop the digital cultural industry and the creative cultural industry during the construction of the pilot demonstration zone of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The authority has also signed a series of strategic cooperation framework agreements with various institutions, including the New Hope Group, SenseTime, New Journey and 58 Group.

At the ceremony, the authority also released the achievements it has made in the past year to mark the first anniversary of President Xi Jinping’s inspection of Qianhai.

According to Du Peng, director of the Qianhai authority, Qianhai has made major breakthroughs in five aspects over the past year, namely economic growth, institutional innovation, Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation, construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, and new urban center construction.

From January to September this year, the added value of registered enterprises in the Qianhai and Shekou area was 208.6 billion yuan, up 15 percent year on year, and the tax revenue increased by 12.8 percent. The fixed assets investment increased by 4.9 percent year on year, and the foreign capital utilized was US$3.27 billion, up 5.2 percent, accounting for 56.1 percent of the city's, 19.7 percent of the province's and 3.2 percent of the country's total. From January to August, the value of imports and exports totaled 523.37 billion yuan, an annual growth of 27.1 percent.

Over the past year, Qianhai made 61 new institutional innovations, bringing its total to 475, covering the fields of investment facilitation, trade facilitation, financial innovation, pre- and post-event regulation, rule of law innovation and talent management reform. Fifty of these have been duplicated and promoted nationwide, along with 69 across Guangdong and 122 citywide. An annual evaluation report by the Guangzhou-based Sun Yat-sen University has ranked Qianhai and Shekou first among the country’s free trade zones and areas in terms of institutional innovation achievements for two consecutive years.

As of July, a total of 11,910 Hong Kong-funded enterprises with a registered capital of 1,285.11 billion yuan had registered in Qianhai. The area has incubated 399 startups, including 198 international entrepreneurial teams. In the first three quarters of this year, the fixed assets investment and tax amount of Hong Kong-funded enterprises accounted for 29 percent and 20 percent of the total in the Qianhai and Shekou area, respectively.

As of the end of September, 41 countries along the Belt and Road route had invested in 431 companies in Qianhai, and the foreign investment utilized totaled US$1.69 billion. Enterprises registered in Qianhai have established 49 enterprises in 17 Belt and Road countries with an investment total of US$1.23 billion.

A world-class cityscape complete with mountain, sea, forest, island, port and bay features has basically formed in Qianhai. The construction of major projects and public facilities has also seen huge progress, including the Qianhai International Conference Center, Harrow School and the International Financial Exchange Center.

Qianhai is dedicated to creating a “window of reform and opening up in the new era” to help Shenzhen upgrade to a pilot demonstration area of socialism with Chinese characteristics.