SZ's banking sector ranks 3rd in total assets in H1

08 02, 2022

In the first half (H1) of the year, Shenzhen's banking sector ranked third among large and medium-sized Chinese cities in terms of total assets, as well as deposits and loans, according to the Shenzhen office of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), Shenzhen Economic Daily reported.The CBIRC data for H1 showed that Shenzhen's total banking assets stood at 12.01 trillion yuan (US$1.77 trillion) by June 30, up 9.35% year on year.The sector's loan balance was 8.36 trillion yuan, an increase of 11.38% year on year, while the deposit balance rose by 9.74% year on year to reach 8.56 trillion yuan.According to the statistics, the city's bad loan ratio was 1.60%, 0.17 percentage points lower than the national average in the same period.The city's insurance industry accumulated assets reaching over 766 billion yuan by the end of June, up 16.41% year on year.In the first half of this year, Shenzhen's banking and insurance sectors further strengthened the financial support for small and micro enterprises as well as self-employed people that were hit hard by the pandemic outbreaks.Loans worth 131.56 billion yuan were lent to transportation, logistics, catering and lodging, tourism and culture, wholesale and retail industries, as part of the city's stimulus package, CBIRC's Shenzhen office said.

23 SZ firms listed as companies with most potential in metaverse

06 17, 2022

A total of 23 Shenzhen-based companies including Tencent and Huawei were listed on Hurun China Metaverse Companies with the Greatest Potential 2022 released by Hurun Research Institute on Wednesday.Shenzhen ranked third in the number of listed companies, following Beijing (55) and Shanghai (33). Moreover, 22% of the companies are based in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.The list included the top 200 Chinese enterprises with the greatest development potential in metaverse. Companies such as China Mobile, China Telecom, Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu, Huawei and ZTE were among the top 20.Tech companies accounted for 38% of the total listed companies, while application enterprises took up 23%, followed by companies in fields of platform technology (20%), intelligent terminals (10%) and network technology (8%)."This is because metaverse needs the support of digital facilities, which is both a challenge and an opportunity for chip companies, especially the leading companies in the fields of GPU chips, MCU chips, LED chips, Wi-Fi chips and sensor chips. At the same time, metaverse needs cloud computing to process data, so data companies also have great potential," Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report chairman and chief researcher, explained.In addition, the companies whose main businesses were mostly in software and data services, accounted for 17%, followed by semiconductor companies (16%), as well as media and entertainment enterprises (15%).Hoogewerf added that "companies in the media and entertainment industries have actively used existing technical means to explore the application possibilities of metaverse. At present, games, films and virtual IPs are popular test fields.""According to a recent CitiBank forecast, the total number of metaverse users will reach 5 billion by 2030, and the potential market size of the metaverse economy may reach between US$8 trillion and US$13 trillion. This is a huge market involving many fields, which will significantly impact people's future life," Hoogewerf said.

SZ's trade with RCEP countries hits ¥279.1B

06 17, 2022

Shenzhen's foreign trade with the other 14 Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) member countries reached 279.1 billion yuan (US$41.82 billion) in the first four months of this year, up 1.5% year on year and accounting for 27% of the city’s total trade.Exports between Shenzhen and RCEP members reached 96.59 billion yuan, an increase of 8.1% percent year on year.Among export products, mechanical and electrical products accounted for over 70% of the total, reaching 70.97 billion yuan and registering a 9.1% growth year on year. Exports of data processing equipment and spare parts such as electrical equipment, computers, medical devices and mobile phones all kept a two-digit growth.Imports of mechanical and electrical equipment reached 152.4 billion yuan, accounting for 80% of the total imports.

SZ utilizes US$2.1B foreign capital in Q1

05 11, 2022

Shenzhen's actual use of foreign capital exceeded US$2.1 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of this year, a surge of 32% year on year, according to data released by the city's commerce bureau.The city has become increasingly attractive to foreign investors thanks to its favorable business environment, officials from the bureau said.Shenzhen is now home to corporations from over 160 countries and regions, including nearly 300 companies on the Fortune 500 list. It has so far approved over 100,000 projects with direct foreign investment, official figures show.Government support and incentives have ensured the steady growth of foreign investment in Shenzhen, Shenzhen Economic Daily reported.Last year, Shenzhen issued measures for encouraging multinational corporations (MNCs) to set up headquarters enterprises in the city, rewarding recognized headquarters firms with 3 to 6 million yuan (US$447,921-895,843). So far, 35 foreign-invested enterprises have been identified as MNCs' headquarters enterprises in Shenzhen, including Walmart, Kareway Health, Shenzhen Smoore Technology and Flex, among others.At the end of April, a total of 14 projects using foreign capital were awarded some 280 million yuan as part of the city government's incentive plan for this year's foreign capital utilization.In recent years, the actual amount of foreign capital used in Shenzhen has been on the rise.Government data showed that between 2016 and 2021, over 40,000 foreign-invested enterprises were established in the city, with the accumulated actual use of foreign capital reaching US$49 billion. The amount of foreign investment increased from US$6.6 billion in 2016 to a record high of US$10 billion in 2021.In 2021, nearly 6,000 foreign-invested enterprises were established in the city, up by 30% year on year.To create a more transparent, stable and predictable foreign investment environment, Shenzhen is actively introducing policies on foreign investment R&D centers, improving the public service system for foreign investment promotion, and accelerating the construction of a market-oriented and law-based business environment.

SZ attracts more foreign investments

04 14, 2022

Nearly 6,000 foreign-invested enterprises were established in Shenzhen in 2021, up by 30% year on year, a source from Shenzhen's commerce bureau said.The city's actual use of foreign capital exceeded US$10 billion, up by more than 20% year on year, the report said.So far, Shenzhen had gathered enterprises from 160 countries and regions including 300 in Fortune 500.The number of direct foreign investment projects has reached 100,000 accumulatively.Shenzhen has gained widespread recognition from international investors. Its policy supports and incentives are the key factors in attracting foreign investments.Earlier this year, the Standing Committee of the Seventh Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress unveiled a draft of Foreign Investment Regulations of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone to seek public suggestions.The city will promote the building of a foreign-related legal service system and let foreign companies enjoy the same support policies designed for local companies, according to the draft.It will build a mechanism for urgently needed talents and streamline procedures for foreign talents to live and work in Shenzhen. The city will issue measures like faster entry in the country to support foreign-funded enterprises and make it more attractive to these talents, the draft showed.In January 2021, the Regulations of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone on Optimizing Business Environment came into force.The regulations eased the market access by allowing all market entities not on the foreign investment "negative list" to have equal access. Also in 2021, the city issued regulations to encourage multinationals to set up headquarters in Shenzhen and 35 foreign-invested enterprises like Walmart, CR Vanguard, Kareway Health and McQuay have been identified as headquarters enterprises of multinational corporations in Shenzhen.Data showed the actual use of foreign investments kept increasing from US$6.6 billion in 2016 to US$10 billion in 2021, and over 40,000 foreign-invested enterprises were set up during the period.Qianhai has become a major destination for foreign investments. Qianhai’s actual use of foreign investments had taken up 50% of its total investments.

City aims to build intl. VC center

04 08, 2022

Shenzhen has rolled out a raft of measures to advance the sustainable and high-quality development of venture capital (VC) investing and build the city into an international VC center, with the measures effective Thursday and valid for five years.The city is offering a reward of 5 million yuan (US$785,500) to the management company of a newly established or relocated private equity (PE) and VC firm if it has invested a total of 400 million yuan or its equivalent in foreign currency in unlisted companies in Shenzhen within three years of its establishment.A single reward for the management company is limited to a maximum of 20 million yuan.Newly established or relocated management companies of private securities investment funds that manage 10 billion yuan and 20 billion yuan or its equivalent in foreign currency, will be awarded 3 million yuan and 5 million yuan, respectively.For PE and VC firms, as well as their management companies, with operating income (including investment income) of more than 200 million yuan and a year-on-year increase of over 10%, or total profit of over 200 million yuan in the previous full fiscal year, they will be rewarded 5% of the investment income generated upon exit in the previous year, with a maximum reward of 20 million yuan for each management company.Shenzhen supports PE and VC firms to increase investment in the city's innovative technology companies in the seed stage or startup stage, as per the measures.Investors of management companies who have invested in the city's innovative technology companies in the seed or startup stage for more than two years will be rewarded 10% of the actual investment. The maximum reward for investing in a single company is 1 million yuan.All districts as well as Dapeng New Area and Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone are encouraged to initiate the establishment and participation of angel funds and VC funds, and to explore the establishment of risk sharing and profit transfer mechanisms, according to the measures.Meanwhile, Shenzhen will offer subsidies to PE and VC firms, as well as their management companies that purchase or rent self-use office space in the city and supports the construction of VC investing demonstration areas.The city strives to direct social capital to invest in innovative projects in high-tech industries, strategic emerging industries and future industries, as well as to enrich the exit channels for private market investors, according to the measures.Shenzhen will establish a PE fund dispute mediation center in line with international practices, strengthen intellectual property rights protection, improve investor education and protection, and encourage the use of legal means to resolve disputes.Official data showed that Shenzhen ranked second in China with 4,308 registered PE firms managing 19,800 funds as of the end of 2021. The city ranked third in China, following Beijing and Shanghai, in terms of assets under management by PE firms, which totaled 2.27 trillion yuan.

SZ to offer rewards up to ¥50M to financial HQ firms

04 08, 2022

Shenzhen will offer a one-off reward of up to 50 million yuan (US$7.8 million) to financial enterprises that newly register headquarters in the city, an official from the city's local financial regulatory bureau said at a press conference held at the Civic Center in Futian District on Thursday.The policy is part of a new set of monetary incentives the city has rolled out to push forward the high-quality development of the city's financial industry and improve the city's competitiveness and cohesiveness as a financial center, He Jie, the bureau's head, said at the conference.The measures took effect Thursday and will remain effective for five years.The incentives also apply to eligible securities asset management companies and key financial infrastructure approved by the city government, as per the conference.Independent fund distributors that establish headquarters in Shenzhen will also be offered a one-off setting-up reward of as high as 5 million yuan.Microcredit companies, financing guarantee companies, pawnbrokers, financial leasing companies, commercial factoring companies and other firms engaged in all-form financial businesses can receive a maximum reward of 10 million yuan for capital increase.In addition, the one-off reward for insurance companies setting up their national online business centers in the city can reach 1 million yuan.The measures have simplified the qualification requirements for the national product research and development centers set up by financial headquarters enterprises and innovative labs to apply for rewards from the city government, and clarified the application criteria of rent subsidies for financial businesses.The financial industry acts as a pillar that buttresses Shenzhen's economy. The sector's added value reached 473.8 billion yuan in 2021, accounting for 15.4% of the city's GDP, with a tax revenue of 166.2 billion yuan.The latest report by Global Financial Centers Index showed that Shenzhen is ranked 10th among 119 financial centers around the world.At Thursday's conference, government supportive policies on financial technology (FinTech) and venture capital were also released.Headquarters enterprises refer to head offices that are incorporated and established with an independent legal entity, and exercise management service functions such as investment and holding a controlling share, operation and decision making, centralized sales, and financial settlement towards enterprises in a certain area, according to the China Law and Practice journal.

SZ to reward foreign-invested companies for new projects

02 14, 2022

Calls for application have begun for a special 100-million-yuan (US$15.7 million) incentive for foreign-funded enterprises registered in Shenzhen to invest in new projects, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported, quoting the commerce bureau.The 2022 Guangdong Province High-quality Economic Development Promotion Special Fund aims to scale up foreign investment and encourage foreign-invested project establishment across the province, particularly to reward projects using foreign capital to increase investment and expand production, according to the commerce bureau.The fund application guide said that incentives will be given to new foreign-funded projects, which were established in Shenzhen in 2021, with actual foreign capital amounting to US$50 million and above. These projects will be awarded 2 percent of the foreign capital put into use in 2021, and the maximum funds shall not exceed 100 million yuan.Last year's Shenzhen-based new projects with added foreign capital with actual foreign capital amounting to US$30 million and above will also be rewarded according to the same rules.The fund applications exclude real estate and financial sector projects.

7 SZ firms make global top 50 intl. patent applicants

02 14, 2022

Seven Shenzhen enterprises were among the world's top 50 applicants in terms of the number of international patent applications last year, Shenzhen Economic Daily reported Saturday, citing data from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).Despite the pandemic, WIPO received a record number of 277,500 international patent applications filed by innovative companies and individuals worldwide in 2021, according to the organization.International patent applications filed via WIPO's Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) are widely recognized as a metric for measuring innovative activity. China manifested its lead as the largest origin of international patent applications by registering 69,540 applications, up by 0.9 percent year on year. It was followed by the U.S. with 59,570, Japan with 50,260, South Korea with 20,678 and Germany with 17,322.WIPO's report showed that for the fifth consecutive year, Shenzhen-based telecom giant Huawei led the list of filers worldwide, with 6,952 published PCT applications. Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications and BOE IoT (Internet of Things) Technology Group also made it to the top 10.Among the top 50 filers, 12 were from China, with seven based in Shenzhen. Aside from Huawei, Ping An Technology (Shenzhen) ranked 11th, ZTE Corp. ranked 13th, DJI ranked 20th, AAC Acoustic Technologies (Shenzhen) ranked 29th, Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics Technology ranked 33rd and Tencent ranked 42nd. These companies each reported growth in PCT filings in 2021, WIPO said.Four Chinese universities entered the list of top 10 applicants among educational institutions in 2021. Zhejiang University ranked second, followed by Tsinghua University ranking fourth, South China University of Technology ranking seventh and Soochow University ranking ninth. The top 50 universities list had 19 Chinese universities, including Shenzhen University.In terms of WIPO's Madrid International Trademark Registration, China continued to rank third with 5,272, after the U.S. and Germany. Two Shenzhen enterprises were among the top 50 filers, namely Huawei and Honor Device ranking fourth and 36th, respectively.Electrical engineering, instrumentation, and chemical and mechanical engineering saw the largest number of filings. In 2021, the electrical engineering sector posted the fastest growth in PCT applications, particularly on audiovisual technology, telecommunications, digital communications, computer technology and semiconductors.