Software park grows as industrial landmark

Xiamen Software Park has not wasted its development opportunities over the years and has become an industrial landmark of the city with a slew of high-tech businesses and innovation incubators.

The park, which has three phases, is part of the Xiamen Torch Development Zone for High Technology Industries. It plays a crucial role in the development of software and high-tech industries in the city of Xiamen in East China's Fujian province.

Official data show that from January to September, the revenue from software and information service industrial enterprises with an annual business turnover of at least 20 million yuan ($3.13 million) had increased by 19.8 percent year-on-year. These businesses' total revenue has topped 100 billion yuan for three straight years, meaning that Xiamen Software Park ranks among China's top software parks.

The park is home to more than 8,000 companies, with 50 of them publically listed.

Four-Faith, a telecommunications technology company in the park, is listed as a national "little giant" company.

Little giant companies are leading small- and medium-sized enterprises that specialize in niche sectors, command a high market share and boast strong innovative capacity and core technologies.

Four-Faith specializes in internet of things technology and develops hardware products as well software systems to empower industries based on 5G.

Its 5G technology has helped to empower Xiamen's industries such as medical services, enabling them to conduct remote diagnoses, and ports, enabling intelligent management and driverless cargo transportation.

Because of its burgeoning development in software and information services, the park ranks among the top 10 software parks in the country. In 2019, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology ranked Xiamen Software Park as "five-star" in terms of its capacity for becoming a new national industrial demonstration base.

The park's industrial layout incorporates smart city construction, big data, artificial intelligence, digital cultural creation, internet and e-commerce.

The park is home to a group of renowned companies across a range of fields, such as Meiya Pico in information safety, Meitu in facial recognition, YLZ Information Technology in healthcare and Migu in animation.

According to the park, smart city construction and application is its pillar industry, with 60 percent of all companies and 60 percent of all revenue coming from the industry.

The big data and AI industries are continuing to grow, and cover semiconductors, algorithms and applications. The number of major AI companies tops 20 and more than 200 businesses use AI technology in their business operations.

In terms of digital cultural creation, total revenue generated has maintained double-digit growth in recent years, and major events have been held including an international animation festival.

Utilizing the advantages of the internet, the park has also accelerated its layout in terms of applications of information technology, and has attracted projects from IT companies including Digital China and Inspur Group.

The park will continue to develop a product ecosystem covering servers, application systems, databases and hardware, as part of the effort to promote Xiamen's innovative industry with IT applications.

Phase three

With a mission to expand the software and IT service industry, the third phase of the software park, located in the city's Jimei new town, is part of the park's efforts to integrate the industry and urban development.

Jimei new town in Jimei district is far away from the city's downtown area and is expected to be developed into another subcenter of the city.

In recent years, many major businesses have moved to the third phase of the park, such as public information security service provider Dragon Info. In July, Xiamen Constellation Satellite Application Research Institute settled in the park, with plans to launch the first tailor-made satellite for Xiamen in the first half of 2022.

As an example of cross-island development in Xiamen, the third phase of the park has developed rapidly.

An innovative management mechanism has been established that incorporates the parties of government, businesses and employees. Moreover, resources have been mobilized such as capital, intellectual property and talent services, in a bid to build an improved park that can provide businesses with more convenience.

Apart from supporting facilities including hotels, cafes and sports fields, the park is improving its transportation system to integrate offices, residences and leisure facilities, an official of the administrative committee of the park said.

As of October, the third phase had attracted 4,851 companies, with nearly 50,000 employees.

The park is building out its western area to become a destination for research and development and technological services. By the end of this year, the western area is expected to attract 143 companies, including some industrial leaders.