Incentives, support offered to boost industry’s growth
Futian district of Shenzhen, Guangdong province, reported its economy expanded 8.2 percent year-on-year to 88.45 billion yuan ($13 billion) in the first quarter of 2017, beating all the city ’s other dis - tricts.
Futian’s total economic volume came in second among same-level regions in Guangdong province, only trailing Guangzhou’s Tianhe, which saw its GDP jump 9.6 percent from a year earlier to 95.18 billion yuan in the first three months of the year.
According to Futian’s bureau of statistics, the financial industry was the driving force of local growth, growing 17 percent from a year earlier and contributing the lion’s share — 34.03 billion yuan or 38.5 percent — of the district’s total economy.
The added value of the financial industry could reach 160 billion yuan this year as the district speeds up the development of the sector, according to Xiao Yafei, chief of Futian’s Party committee.
Official figures show that about 67 percent of licensed financial institutions in Shenzhen have their headquarters in Futian. Renowned financial institutions, insurance compa- nies and brokerages such as the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Ping An Insurance and China Merchants Bank, are all based in Futian.
The financial i ndustry has long been the district’s economic pillar, as the government has sought various ways to build the district into a national, modern financial hub. The Futian government has been introducing incentives to encourage financial giants to move their headquarters to the district.
F u t i a n ’s a s p i r a t i o n t o become a national financial powerhouse has paid off. So far, it is home to a total of 120 listed companies. Official data show that 60 percent of the banks, 79 percent of the insurance companies, 89 percent of the brokerages, 94 percent of the fund management companies and all the futures companies in Shenzhen are based in Futian.
The district government announced new incentives for the financial industry’s devel- opment on May 11. It said that support for industrial development in 2017 will more than double compared with last year and that the new policy is more targeted, forceful, practical and standardized.
Futian has always attached great importance to supporting and serving enterprises. Since 2012, when an industry development fund was established, Futian has provided a total of 2.27 billion yuan to 7,300 enterprises. The fund previously focused on help- ing startup enterprises, boosting the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises and promoting a stronger headquarters economy and financial industry.
The fund will now prioritize support aimed at upgrading local industries that focus on innovation, research and development, and the c ultivation of new drivers for economic growth. Support f o r t h e f i n a n c i a l i n d u s t r y, headquarters economy, listed companies and modern service industry will account for more than 55 percent of the total fund.
Futian will also focus more on emerging industries and providing more financial support for technological innovation and R&D. Up to 5 million yuan will be given for R&D and innovation, up to 20 million yuan for technological and financial credit and subsidies, and up to 3 million yuan for original designs.
Up to 20 million yuan will be used as incentives for key projects, according to Feng Xiangyang, head of the Futian district service center for enterprises’ development.
Shenzhen Daily provided the story.