China News Service, March 28. On the 28th, the State Council Information Office held a press conference on "Focusing on the 'Five Centers' and Accelerating the Construction of a Modern Socialist International Metropolis with World Influence". Gong Zheng, Deputy Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and Mayor, answered a reporter's question and said that the construction of Shanghai's five international centers includes an international financial center and an international science and technology innovation center. Therefore, finance and science and technology are the core functions of Shanghai. Only by working in both directions can we better achieve each other.
Gong Zheng said that the high-quality development of finance requires technology empowerment, and the self-reliance and self-reliance of science and technology cannot be separated from the support of a highly adapted financial service system. It can be said that there is no finance without technology, and there is no technology without finance.
Gong Zheng introduced that in recent years, under the guidance of relevant central departments, Shanghai has vigorously promoted the integration of science and technology and finance, and has gradually built a science and technology financial system with science and technology credit, science and technology insurance, equity investment and multi-level capital markets as the basic structure. In the next step, Shanghai will continue to focus on the entire chain and process of scientific and technological innovation, relying on important platforms such as the scientific and technological financial reform pilot zone, and strive to improve the quality and efficiency of Shanghai's scientific and technological financial services. There are several main measures:
The first is to optimize the technology investment ecology and guide financial "living water" to nourish technology companies' source innovation. Shanghai is a major gathering place for equity investment institutions. There are more than 1,800 private equity and venture capital managers in the city, with more than 8,900 funds under management and a total scale of 2.3 trillion yuan. All three data rank among the top in the country. Shanghai will further promote the high-quality development of the equity investment industry and guide social capital to increase support for early-stage technology companies, because the early-stage risks are relatively high and there are many uncertainties, but they also need financial support. Recently, we have promoted the establishment of the Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Finance Research Institute, a social organization focused on promoting the development of angel investment. The purpose is to strengthen the discovery and investment cultivation of early-stage projects and help social capital do a good job in investment docking.
The second is to strengthen the multi-level capital market to help high-quality technology companies go public, raise funds, and develop better. In the five years since its establishment, the Science and Technology Innovation Board has become the first choice for hard technology companies to go public. So far, there have been 570 listed companies, and the cumulative IPO funds raised have exceeded 900 billion yuan. Among them, Shanghai-listed companies accounted for 90 of the 570. Shanghai The number of companies listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board is not the largest, but Shanghai’s companies listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board rank first in cumulative IPO funds raised and market value, with funds raised reaching 230 billion yuan. We will cooperate with national authorities to continue to deepen capital market reform, improve the functions of capital markets such as the Shanghai Stock Exchange's main board and the Science and Technology Innovation Board, and strive to build the Shanghai capital market into an important engine that supports technological innovation and cultivates new productivity.
The third is to refine technology credit and insurance products to better meet the diversified financing needs of technology companies. Guide financial institutions to adapt to the characteristics of new elements such as technology, data, and talents, pay attention to the value of intangible assets, innovate products and services such as credit and insurance, and increase support for technological innovation. For example, Shanghai has promoted some commercial banks to pilot "Technology Enterprise Employee Stock Ownership Plans and Equity Incentive Loans" for technology-based non-listed companies in the Lingang New Area and Zhangjiang Science City, which will help companies stabilize core employees and stimulate innovation vitality. It's very helpful. Next, Shanghai will also support financial institutions to innovate and launch more special financing products that are urgently needed by technology companies. (China News Finance)