Shandong's capital becomes hot spot for investment

Jinan, the dynamic capital city of Shandong province, is vigorously building itself into a hot spot so as to attract investment from home and abroad, according to business leaders and officials.

To achieve its goal, the city has been actively developing key industries, officials said. These include big data and new generation of information technology, intelligent manufacturing and high-end equipment, quantum technology, biomedicine, advanced materials, industrial finance and modern logistics, healthcare and cultural tourism as well as science and technology services.

In August this year, the city launched an industrial development investment fund of 10 billion yuan ($1.44 billion), aimed at boosting breakthroughs in these key sectors.

After continuous efforts, good results have already been seen in these industries, according to officials. In terms of big data and new generation information technology, Jinan now has become an important area for the software industry in China, and it is now home to a number of national industry platforms and parks, such as the national information and communication innovation park, a national information industry high-tech industrial base, and the national supercomputing Jinan center.

Last year, the main business income of the city’s information technology industry totaled 319.9 billion yuan, of which the earnings from software and information technology services came in at 255.8 billion yuan, accounting for 51 percent of the total of the province, ranking first in Shandong.

In the fields of numerical control machines, heavy trucks, electric power equipment and internal combustion engines, Jinan has developed and manufactured many products that are the first of their kind in China.

It has become an important center for high-end equipment manufacturing in China. In 2017, the total sales revenue of the high-end equipment manufacturing industry was 143.28 billion yuan, registering 9.5 percent year-on-year growth.

So far, the city has completed construction of the Jinan Quantum Communication Test Network, one of the world's largest and practical quantum communications networks. The new site for the Jinan Institute of Quantum Technology was officially opened this year, and the first National Technical Committee for Standardization of Quantum Computing and Measurement was also unveiled in Jinan.

In the cutting-edge field of biomedicine, Jinan has seen the development and expansion of many different businesses, including those in chemical

pharmacy, modern Chinese medicine, biopharmacy, medical devices, cosmetics and healthcare products, medical logistics and others.

There are also emerging new industries with high-added value, such as cell therapy, gene detection and internet medical treatment.

By the end of 2017, the number of businesses in the city's biomedical industry, covering manufacturing, logistics, sales, research and development, had reached more than 2,200, and its main business income reached 91.52 billion yuan for the year.

Jinan did outstandingly in a report on the development in national high-tech zones of gazelle enterprises, defined as high-growth companies that have been expanding sales by at least a fifth annually over four years or more. The report, jointly released by China’s Torch High Technology Industry Development Center and Greatwall Enterprise Institute, listed a total of 31 enterprises from Jinan because of their fast growth, strong creative ability and great potential.

According to an industrial revitalization plan formulated by Jinan, by 2020 the size of assets of all these key industries will reach a level of 100 billion yuan. Among them, the assets in the big data and new generation information technology industries will be worth 50 billion yuan, and those in the intelligent manufacturing and high-end equipment industries will be worth an estimated 20 billion yuan.

By that date, the overall size and scale of the top industries will be much stronger, the innovation ability more prominent, the services system more efficient, the spatial layout more optimized and the brand effect will be much more evident, according to the plan.

These industries will become the city's leading sector in terms of economic growth, and the core industries to accelerate its transformation and upgrading. In addition, they will be the vital part in the formation of a modern industrial system with Jinan characteristics, the plan added.

Jinan is actively developing 10 key industries so as to make itself an attractive destination for investment from home and abroad. [Photo provided to China Daily]