The 21st Century Economic Reporter Zhao Na reports from Suzhou
"The GDP growth rate of Wujiang in the first quarter of this year was 9.6%, achieving a 'good start' in the first quarter." Li Ming, vice chairman of the CPPCC Suzhou Municipal Committee and secretary of the Wujiang District Party Committee, invited entrepreneurs and investors at the Suzhou Bay venture capital event held on May 18, saying that he would promote the "two-way rush" of capital and industry, creating more opportunities and winning more benefits for enterprises and investment institutions.
The reporter of 21st Century Business Herald recently went to Wujiang to investigate and interview and learned that the local government has fully recognized and respected the role of capital as "living water" in the past decade, which has strongly promoted the development of emerging industries such as semiconductor and new energy. For example, in the field of new energy, local enterprises such as Maiwei Shares, Saiwu Application and Kerun New Materials were introduced through equity investment. Li Ming introduced that Wujiang is striving to promote new energy to the fifth 100 billion level industry.
From the perspective of overall industry and innovation, Wujiang will achieve a regional GDP of 237.7 billion yuan in 2023, and the gross industrial output above designated size will reach 497 billion yuan. There are not only four hundred billion level industries, including electronic information, high-end textile, equipment manufacturing, and new materials, but also 12 single champions in manufacturing industry and 61 national "small giant" enterprises specializing in special and new products.
In terms of accelerating resource accumulation, the Suzhou Bay Venture Capital No.1 built by Orient State owned Assets has gathered more than 500 financial investment institutions of all kinds, with a fund management scale of more than 200 billion yuan. The innovation system of the whole chain of "fund+project+talent" is becoming more and more mature, which has helped many enterprises to successfully go to the market.
Embrace new quality productivity
Many interviewees from the investment and business circles said that the dual forces of capital and assets have been fully released and integrated in Wujiang, providing a strong impetus for scientific and technological innovation and enterprise development.
The meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee in April this year stressed that we should develop new quality productivity in line with local conditions, and also proposed that "we should actively develop venture capital and expand patient capital".
Looking back, the Central Economic Work Conference held at the end of 2023 systematically deployed economic work in 2024, and listed "leading the construction of modern industrial system with scientific and technological innovation" as the top of nine key tasks. Among them, "encouraging the development of venture capital and equity investment" is an important focus.
"Cultivating, expanding and developing new quality productivity, like promoting the development of traditional productivity, the role of investment and the power of capital are indispensable and important factors." In Shen Zhiqun, vice president of the China Investment Association and chairman of the Venture Capital Committee, he fully understood that venture capital is an important capital force for developing new quality productivity, It is not only of great practical significance to promote the construction of a modern industrial system led by scientific and technological innovation, but also of far-reaching historical significance to implement the innovation driven development strategy and achieve the goal of scientific and technological self-reliance.
He further said that Wujiang has developed private economy, strong market vitality and superior business environment. It has created two world top 500 enterprises, four Chinese top 500 enterprises and six Chinese top 500 private enterprises, which is the first step and breakthrough of the national strategy of integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta. These conditions have laid an important foundation for venture capital to help the development of new quality productivity.
Xia Zuoquan, chairman of Shenzhen Zhengxuan Investment Co., Ltd., established a market-oriented fund in Wujiang in 2018, and Wujiang Economic Development Zone is the cornerstone investor of the fund. Xia Zuoquan revealed that both parties have achieved fruitful results and achieved win-win results in fund cooperation and project cooperation in recent years. Zhengxuan Investment will continue to make full use of the team's advantages in industry and capital to jointly build a harmonious and sustainable technological innovation investment environment with Wujiang.
Become patient capital
For many practitioners in the equity investment industry, Suzhou has always been a leading innovation highland, entrepreneurial hot spot and fertile land for venture capital in the Yangtze River Delta region and even in China.
As one of the most developed regions in the venture capital industry in the Yangtze River Delta region and even in China, Suzhou is a leading city in China in terms of relatively concentrated and concentrated venture capital institutions, especially the number of excellent local venture capital brand institutions, the scale of assets under management, and high-quality venture capital professionals.
Dongfang State owned Assets is a wholly state-owned financial investment platform in Wujiang District, Suzhou City. It has invested 14 master funds and 119 sub funds at all levels, forming a "parent sub" fund cluster with a total scale of more than 100 billion yuan, which has helped 63 enterprises to successfully list.
"Suzhou Bay Venture Capital No.1 has become a fund cluster with remarkable and influential performance in China, and can take the lead in exploring ways and means to accelerate the high-quality development of venture capital in the new historical period." Shen Zhiqun raised expectations, especially in the case of a series of problems facing China's venture capital industry, and hoped that Dongfang State owned Assets could put forward an idea and find a way out, In order to better play the unique role of venture capital in promoting the development of new quality productivity.
At the Suzhou Bay venture capital activity site, Dongfang State owned Assets officially released the "Dongfang Venture Capital" brand. As a direct investment sector under Orient State owned Assets, Orient Venture Capital has a management capital of about 1.5 billion yuan, which is one of the few state-owned assets institutions in the industry mainly engaged in seed and angel round investment.
Up to now, Oriental Venture Capital has invested in 70 start-ups in total, and six of them have been successfully listed. Fan Hong, the deputy general manager of Dongfang State owned Assets Management, told the 21st Century Economic News reporter in an interview after the meeting that the source of funds determines the degree of patience to a certain extent. From this perspective, state-owned background capital has always been the "vanguard" of patient capital.
From the perspective of investment stage, more than 80% of the projects of Oriental Venture Capital were invested in the A round and before. These projects have grown into listed enterprises such as Saiwu Application and Maiwei, which has driven the vigorous rise of Wujiang new energy industry in Wujiang.
He disclosed that Orient Venture Capital has accelerated its marketization path since 2022 and set up five quasi marketization funds. The team also set up the market-oriented Oriental Chengfeng Fund this year and entered the fund-raising stage.
