In 2016, Guangzhou presented impressive sci-tech innovative development data. A total of 2,823 new high-tech enterprises was established in the year, ranking No. 1 among nationwide sub-provincial cities and above; 203 enterprises was listed on the OTC market for IPO, bringing the total to 347, ranking No. 1 in the year’s IPOs and the accumulation among nationwide provincial capitals; the average of net assets of the city’s OTC newcomers ranks No. 1 among Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen; and 73 sci-tech enterprise incubators were established, achieving a growth rate of 61% and bringing the total to 192.

The rapid development of innovative enterprises brings clustering effect. Guangzhou’s competitive industries gradually take shape. For instance, biology and health industries are both strategic emerging industries that rapidly develop currently and competitive industries of Guangzhou. Guangzhou has formed a cascade and clustering industrial layout consisting of leading and backbone enterprises.

Guangzhou subsidizes 1.2 billion yuan to enterprise R&D

In 2016, Guangzhou high-tech enterprises continued explosive growth. The rapid growth of enterprises rely on the policy support and the considerate governmental service. In 2016, Guangzhou carried out the sci-tech innovation coupon policy, issued the coupon credit of 52.2124 million yuan for citywide small-, medium- and micro-enterprises and makers, cashed the coupon valued 6.1696 million yuan for 259 services. Meanwhile, Guangzhou carried out the subsidy policy for enterprise’s R&D expense cost and R&D department establishment, and subsidized 1.201 billion yuan to 2,307 enterprises for their R&D expense cost and 937 million yuan to 937  enterprises for their R&D department establishment. According to statistics, 2,100 enterprises above city level have established R&D departments, including 755 industrial enterprises above statistics threshold, accounting for 16% of the total enterprises above statistics threshold, which is two times of the number in 2014.

Guangzhou’s OTC-listed enterprises raised 4.926 billion yuan last year

The development of sci-tech enterprises is inseparable from the strength of finance. In 2016, Guangzhou strove to build a capital market financing platform to give full play of the lever effect of financial funds and boost the development of sci-tech enterprises.

Guangzhou has taken the national lead in carrying out bidirectional incentive subsidies for sci-tech investment, invested 146.5942 million yuan in bidirectional incentive subsidies and supported 212 initial sci-tech enterprises to usher in social capital of 2.432 billion yuan.

In 2015, Guangzhou established a credit risk compensation fund pool for its sci-tech SMEs with an initial scale of 400 million yuan to drive 8 cooperative banks to offer funds to light asset sci-tech enterprises. Since the official operation in early 2016, the program has received 418 credit applications, issued the credit of 4.247 billion yuan in total, carried out the sci-tech credit’s interest discount policy, helped 143 sci-tech enterprises obtain bank loans of 3.063 billion yuan and efficiently reduced the financing cost of enterprises. So far, the city has established 9 sci-tech branch banks, ranking the first in Guangdong.

In 2016, Guangzhou had 203 new enterprises listed on the OTC market for IPO, bringing the total to 347 and forming a Guangzhou OTC sci-tech block preliminarily, had 1,284 new enterprises listed on Guangzhou Equity Exchange, bringing the total to 2,728. The financing scale of OTC-listed enterprises rapidly improved, reaching 80 million yuan in 2014, 2.49 billion yuan in 2015 and 4.926 billion yuan, 1.9 times of the total of the two previous years, in 2016. High-tech and high-growth are the eye-catching features of the listed enterprises including 80% high-tech and “little giant” ones. 

Guangzhou takes the lead in formulating sci-tech incubator performance evaluation system

While encouraging the development of individual enterprises, Guangzhou is also striving to build a complete sci-tech enterprise incubation system. So far, Guangzhou has gradually set up the full-chain incubation(incl. maker space) service system consisting of nurturing, incubation and acceleration, and offer different and customized incubation services for startup projects, initial enterprises and high-growth enterprises.

In 2016, Guangzhou had 73 new sci-tech incubators, bringing the total to 192 including 21 state-level ones, and reached incubation area of 8.40 million square meters.

Guangzhou ranks China’s No. 2 in the growth of high-tech enterprise number

A total of 2,823 new high-tech enterprises was established in 2016, ranking No. 1 among nationwide sub-provincial cities and above. The number is 10 times higher than the net growth(263) in 2015. Guangzhou’s high-tech enterprise number net growth in 2016 is the second among nationwide big cities and only next to Beijing. The total number of Guangzhou’s high-tech enterprise reached 4,742 in 2016, 2.5 times of that(1,919) in 2015, ranking the 4^th among China’s big cities.

Guangzhou boasts high-level incubators

In 2016, Guangzhou had 73 new sci-tech incubators, bringing the total to 192 including 21 state-level ones, and reached incubation area of 8.40 million square meters with more than 10,000 enterprises and projects under incubation. Guangzhou also had 80 new maker space, bringing the total to 115 including 45 ones covered by the state-level incubator management and support system.

Guangzhou OTC sci-tech block takes shape preliminarily

In 2016, Guangzhou had 203 new enterprises listed on the OTC market for IPO, bringing the total to 347 and forming a Guangzhou OTC sci-tech block preliminarily, had 1,284 new enterprises listed on Guangzhou Equity Exchange, bringing the total to 2,728.

Guangzhou has a robust production-university-research innovative alliance

By the end of 2016, Guangzhou has set up 103 production-university-research innovative alliances. In 2016, Guangzhou’s production-university-research innovative alliances realized main business revenue of about 47 billion yuan and high-tech products’ output of about 30 billion yuan. 

Guangzhou’s innovative competitive industries gradually take shape

Against the backdrop of rapid development of innovative entities and continuous improvement of platform collaboration, Guangzhou’s innovative competitive industries gradually take shape. For instance, biology and health industries are both strategic emerging industries that rapidly develop currently and Guangzhou’s competitive industries with good development basis.

Guangzhou shows dazzling sci-tech innovative development data

In 2016, Guangzhou’s production-university-research innovative alliances realized main business revenue of about 47 billion yuan and high-tech products’ output of about 30 billion yuan, carried out 25 sci-tech achievement transformation projects, made 1,438 patent applications with 674 approved, and won 16 state-, provincial and municipal awards.

By means of “ushering in talent through borrowing external resources”, Guangzhou also established Guangzhou Institutes of Bio-medicine and Health of Chinese Academy of Sciences, South China Bio-pharmaceutical Institute of Academy of Military Sciences PLA China, PKU Guanhao Stem Cell and Regeneration Medicine Institute, Guangzhou BGI Translational Medicine Laboratory and other institutions, and boosted a group of high-level innovation platforms.

The financing scale of OTC-listed enterprises rapidly improved, reaching 80 million yuan in 2014, 2.49 billion yuan in 2015 and 4.926 billion yuan, 1.9 times of the total of the two previous years, in 2016. High-tech and high-growth are the eye-catching features of the listed enterprises including 80% high-tech and “little giant” ones.

Centering on eight industries, namely bio-medicine, bio-agriculture, bio-energy, bio-environmental protection, bio-manufacturing, bio-medical engineering, bio-technical service and health service, a cascade and cluster industrial layout with Guangzhou Phar. Holdings as the industrial leader and a group of professional, new, special and good backbone enterprises as the elite force has taken shape.

Centering around strategic emerging enterprises, Guangzhou constantly improved the construction of the key laboratory system. By the end of 2016, Guangzhou had been home to 357 key laboratories, including 19 national key labs, 191 provincial key labs and 147 municipal key labs, with research fields of bio-health, new energy and energy-saving and environmental protection, new generation IT and etc., formed a relatively complete three-tier scientific research system, and effectively strengthened the city’s cutting-edge technical reserve and original innovation capabilities.