Policies boost Mianyang Science and Technology City's global reach

A science and technology area in Mianyang, a city in Southwest China's Sichuan province, has attracted global investors and entrepreneurs thanks to its favorable policies.

Receiving State Council approval in July 2001, Mianyang Science and Technology City is home to different industrial zones and parks. Its central aim is to translate the city's research resources into productivity and profit, to support Mianyang's goal of becoming it a regional hub for technological innovation.

One of the fastest-growing parks in the science and technology city is the Mianyang Science and Technology Business Park. Established in 2001, it has expanded into a prime destination for startups.

Li Wei, deputy chief of the park's administrative committee, said, "This year, the park released new polices to attract domestic and international investors and startups."

The park benefits from a number of favorable policies issued by the city, the province and the State.

According to the policies, a Fortune Global 500 company or China top 100 business that invests in the park can receive rewards of up to 2 million yuan ($302,352) if it sets up a headquarters, operation center, settlement center and research and development center in the area.

The park will offer up to 20 million yuan as a reward for the professional development of an entrepreneurship team that starts an enterprise with nationally or internationally leading technologies and expertise.

For enterprises involved in civil-military integration, Mianyang has set up five funds totaling 5.45 billion yuan to encourage the transfer of military technologies and products into civil use and help in their development.

In addition, the government will provide up to 50,000 yuan to financial organizations and 1 million yuan to animation enterprises operating in the park. Projects concerning big data, cloud computing and other key technologies will be rewarded up to 1.5 million yuan, according to their R&D investment amount.

To date, the Science and Technology Business Park has attracted 1,500 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, seven times more than it housed four years ago. Totaling 300,000 square meters, the park's business incubator space is six times larger than it was five years ago.

Lianggu Tech Co, founded in 2005, is an expert in "sponge city" technology. This is a national initiative to use permeable surfaces to create natural systems in urban areas for mitigating rainwater runoff and replenishing groundwater.

The company has shifted its focus to Mianyang because of its preferential policies and good entrepreneurial environment this year.

Li Qiushi, director of the company's human resources department, said, "The park's exemption of (office space) rental for the first two years is the most direct form of support for us, which saves 30,000 yuan in operation costs for the company."

Lianggu Tech currently offers sponge city and smart city solutions. Its revenue will reach 175 million yuan and tax revenue will total 7.8 million yuan this year, according to Li.

With the aim of building a regional hub for technological innovation, the park has invested more than 2 billion yuan in building a high-tech innovation center.

Many leading industrial players have settled in the park. It is now home to a Cambridge University-backed science and technology incubation center, a European Union-supported innovation center, an Alibaba location-based service center and IBM's first big data analysis center in China, as well as other famous data centers.

Overseas professionals

High-profile professionals from around the world have been attracted by the city's preferential policies and friendly business environment.

Xing Bin, PhD, is a French-Chinese expert in data and signal processing. He said he was greatly impressed by the science and technology business park during his business trips to Mianyang in 2015.

"When visiting the international business incubators, I found the park's management concept, supporting polices and working environment attractive," said Xing.

Xing set up Mianyang Beiqing Data Technology Co and a big data visualization center in the park last June.

In May this year, Mianyang Beiqing worked alongside renowned local household appliance company Changhong Group and Sichuan Jiuzhou Electric Group to establish the Mianyang Science and Technology City Big Data Research Institute in the park.

"The administrative committee of the park offered office space and startup funds for the institute," Xing said.

"The institute's research results and big data resources will be shared and promoted via seminars, forums and training, to strengthen local industries' knowledge about big data," Xing added.

caoyingying@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 10/24/2017 page12)