3 chariots attracting high-tech companies

Ti Gong

A convenient financing channel, high-quality services and an accumulation of skilled workers are the three chariots pulling Tus-Caohejing Science Park in Songjiang District ahead into fast development, according to Xu Erwei, the park’s general manager.

“Tus-Caohejing Science Park opened in May 2016 and its occupancy rate reached 95 percent by the end of the year,” said Xu. “Its tax revenue in 2017 was 550,000 yuan per mu (US$5,350 per hectare) and its tax revenue in 2018 is expected to reach 1.5 million yuan per mu, above the average 720,000 yuan per mu of tax revenue that Shanghai requires from all of its development zones.”

Last year, 470 intellectual property items were created in the park.

The park excels in intellectual creation, technology innovation, industrial upgrades and structure improvement, among others. More than 200 companies in the park are in high-tech industrial fields such as intelligent manufacturing and bio-medicine. The park also houses the Shanghai Institute of Analytical Technologies.

Setting a high value on attracting investment, the park also focuses on company incubation and industry cultivation. It is especially good at equity financing, which is a catalyst in company incubation.

Equity financing

“Tus-Caohejing Science Park held, collected and initiated funds to support sci-tech innovation industries in Songjiang and invest in high-quality sci-tech companies,” said Xu.

So far, the venture capital raised during the second half of 2018 has been invested to companies in the park or about to be located there.

The second phase of the park, to occupy a floor area of 63 mu (4.2 hectares) and have a total construction area of around 110,000 square meters, began construction in April 2017 and will be completed in the first quarter of this year. The contract signing rate of the second phase has reached 40 percent and the majority of the companies are from the intelligent manufacturing industry.

The third phase of the park is also being constructed.

“Technology, talent and capital are key parts of a company. Once top talent of an industry gathers in a place, the place will attract other talent like a magnetic field,” said Wang Shili, vice president of PurSpec Technologies, a mass spectrum analysis company based in the park.

Ti Gong