SHENZHEN’S top economic planning agency unveiled the city’s industrial strategy and financial incentives for high-tech investment at the 2019 Shenzhen Global Investment Promotion Conference on Wednesday.

Shenzhen will set aside 7 billion yuan (US$1 billion) each year to award innovative talents and fund affordable housing projects for talented people, Nie Xinping, director of the Shenzhen Municipal Development and Reform Commission, said at the conference. High-tech enterprises will also be eligible for 20 billion yuan in industrial development incentives each year.

Generous incentives will be given to projects involving the integrated circuit (IC), biomedicine, 5G telecom and 8K ultra-high definition industries. The city government will provide fiscal support for IC development at up to 70 percent of the cost of tape-out, which is the final result of the design process for ICs or printed circuit boards before they are sent for manufacturing. A maximum of 30 million yuan will be handed out to any enterprise developing electronic design automation (EDA), which is a category of software tools for designing electronic systems such as ICs and printed circuit boards.

The same ceiling of financial support will also be available for biomedicine or medical imaging and radiotherapy equipment manufacturers, Nie told the conference. A maximum of 100 million yuan in financial incentives a year is up for grabs for pharmaceutical companies who develop a new Category I drug. The city is building five biomedicine and innovative medicine industrial parks in Pingshan, Futian, Guangming, Longgang and Dapeng.

Nie also promised support for the construction of 5G infrastructure and the development of core 5G technologies and applications. Telecom companies will receive a 10,000-yuan reward for each standalone 5G base station. A maximum of 150 million yuan in rewards are available for each telecom operator’s 5G development. The city aims to build 45,000 5G base stations by the end of August 2020 and become the first city in China to have citywide 5G coverage.

Hefty incentives are also being dished out for the development of 8K ultra-high definition technologies and applications. A maximum of 10 million yuan is available for an 8K public service platform, while 15 million yuan will be given to any 8K industrial project. A higher incentive of up to 20 million yuan will be provided to research projects involving both national and local institutions.

Nie also disclosed that the city will provide special support in a bid to form three major industrial clusters, namely new-type displays, artificial intelligence and intelligent manufacturing.

As part of its efforts to accelerate its innovation-led development strategy, Shenzhen is striving to build national science centers, Nie said. The planned Guangming Science Town and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science Innovation Cooperation Zone will be home to national laboratories and basic research institutes. The business environment will be further improved to increase efficiency, lower cost and optimize services, Nie added.

(SD News)