Suzhou Special: Suzhou keeps its brainy tradition alive with venture week

Suzhou, an economic powerhouse in Jiangsu province, is seeking to swell the ranks of its local talent pool with top global talent through an event scheduled to be held in July dubbed Venture Week for International Elites.

The organizers of the event are now calling for proposals for potential investment projects and startups.

The city's tradition of producing great thinkers throughout the nation's history is a source of local pride.

Among its residents were the designers of some of China's most-picturesque classical gardens. With the power of ideas, its intellectual leaders transformed the city into a key component of the nation's breadbasket.

Many of the Suzhou's luminaries built successful businesses that became household names across the nation, and together, the city's people created a place known to many as "Paradise on Earth".

Carrying forward its evolution from a national center for cultivating intellectualism in ancient times into a global base of talent in the modern world, Suzhou is now seeking to attract world-class professionals to drive it forward into the future.

Organized in 2009, the venture week is but one facet of this ongoing strategy.

Since it was first held, the event has helped launch a total of 1,267 innovative investment projects in the city, their combined registered capital totaling 10.5 billion yuan ($1.75 billion).

The event also attracted 54 of those selected to be a part of the nation's "1,000 Talent Project", a plan by the central government to attract top talent from overseas. The central government is offering each approved professional 1 million yuan in subsidies under the plan.

It has been attended by 35 elite professionals for Jiangsu's province-wide plan to promote startups.

Currently, the city is scouting for more leading professionals in new energy, material, smart grid, nanotechnology, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, equipment manufacturing, software, service outsourcing, finance and cultural innovation sectors and awaiting them to join the venture week in July to present their startup projects.

This year the event will reflect the city's business motto "Suzhou: A Paradise for Innovation" and focus on the strategic and emerging industries - biopharmaceuticals, electronic information, new materials, equipment manufacturing and alternative energy.

During the past five years, some 7,800 domestic and international experts and business professionals have taken part in the venture week, 72.5 percent of which had doctorate degrees. Together, they have established 8,050 startups.

This year, the organizers expect the week could be even more of an attraction for experts, business leaders and overseas returnees with a broader range of international backgrounds, higher management capacity and top technological prowess.

They hope those people could attract more companies to do business in the city.

Of the 423 projects introduced since last year's venture week, there are 52 that each has registered capital of at least 10 million yuan in registered capital as well as 8 with registered capital totaling more than 100 million yuan.

There has been rapid growth in the number of projects launched in the city after the annual venture week.

By the end of 2012, six of them had each achieved an industrial output value of 100 million yuan, 37 generated 1 million yuan each, while four each had 10 million yuan.

The city launched an online service to enable startups to access the services of venture week at any time of the day all year long.

Candidates are welcome to register online, match-make with potential investors and negotiate with local businesses.

www.rcsz.gov.cn/cyz

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 03/28/2014 page21)