Category Archives: Tech

Fintech

IP financing boost for SMEs

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Shenzhen is adopting a new way of supporting Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs) in securing financing, based on their intellectual property. According to local media, SMEs with valuable IP will be fast-tracked in approvals for loans from financial institutions by pledging their patents, trademarks, and copyrights as collateral.

During the epidemic period, 41 IP-backed financing projects have been approved for enterprises, worth 1.032 billion yuan. Two examples of this are Shenzhen Communications Bank, which gave 10 million yuan to Shenzhen Xinyang Weikang Technology for the research and production of diagnostic kits, and Shenzhen Pufa Bank, which 4.7 million yuan to Shenzhen Pubo Technology.

At the same time, the city has approved the issuance of listed products on the Shenzhen stock exchange which are securitized by intellectual property rights. These are set to raise 1 billion yuan of funds.

Read more (in Chinese)

Tech

GBA firms fight the virus with smart products

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From intelligent robots to drones, tech companies in the Greater Bay Area are stepping up to fight the coronavirus. 

The technology is being applied at a crucial time for the region. As Guangdong struggles to get back to work, with millions of migrant workers not yet returned to offices, factories and construction sites, authorities are concerned about how to fight the outbreak while at the same time resuming – and boosting – productivity.   Continue reading GBA firms fight the virus with smart products →

Innovation, Tech

Guangdong 2nd in software output

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Guangdong contributed the second-biggest amount to China’s software industry last year, behind only Beijing, data shows. The sector grew 15.4% in 2019, generating 7 trillion yuan of revenues. And despite a 1.1% decline in software exports, profits rose by 9.9% to 936 billion yuan. 

Guangdong contributed 14.3% of the total revenue, second only to Beijing which accounted for 15%.

Read more on Caixin.

Devices, Tech

‘Smartphone City’ aims high with R&D boost

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One of the reasons for Dongguan having enjoyed such a strong economic performance in 2019 (GDP +7%) is because China’s smartphone industry escaped the ire of US President Donald Trump. Or, more particularly, it is why Chang’an Town, home of Vivo and OPPO, had a good year. With smartphones managing to avoid tariffs in the US-China trade war, the town’s GDP broke the 70 billion mark thanks to surging industrial output that reached 266.73 billion yuan. 

More importantly, however, 2019 will be remembered as the year these homegrown tech giants broke ground on large-scale new R&D centers in the town, pushing up fixed-asset investment by 42% to 7.44 billion yuan.

Continue reading ‘Smartphone City’ aims high with R&D boost →

Fintech, Industries

Guangdong puts SMEs on blockchain

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Guangdong has launched an innovative new SME financing and regulatory system built on blockchain technology, in which companies may register their assets, liabilities and transactions in real time with a wide range of government departments and, in return, gain easier access to credit from banks and other financial institutions.

“Guangdong’s battle against financial risks has been strengthened as powerful weapons have been added,” Li Tengfei, deputy director of the Guangdong Local Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau, was quoted as saying by local media.

Continue reading Guangdong puts SMEs on blockchain →

Features, Innovation, Tech

GBA startup communities: an explainer

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As the masterplan of turning the nine cities in Guangdong as well as Hong Kong and Macau into an integrated technology hub unfolds, incubators and accelerators have been springing up around the region, all rushing to gain a foothold in the rise of China’s Silicon Valley.

Incubators, in the Western script, are companies staffed by experienced investors and executives that help startups by providing them with professional training, working space and venture capital. Accelerators are basically doing the same job, but focused on scaling up existing business models. 

The landscape is rather different in China, where the central and local governments are dominant. Here, startup support services are established largely to facilitate the country’s economic development agenda laid down by the Party, and lines are always blurred in terms of the functions of incubators, accelerators and scientific laboratories.

Continue reading GBA startup communities: an explainer →

Innovation, Tech

AI robot has IP rights, says Shenzhen court

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Tencent has won a landmark legal case over copyright infringement. Or rather, it might be more accurate to say, one of its bots has.

The Shenzhen-based tech conglomerate’s AI news-writing software program, Dreamwriter, made history recently by becoming the first case of its kind in China to defend the copyright of a non-human. According to local media, no exact date was provided for the verdict. It was issued after a Chinese website specialising in online lending copied an article generated by Dreamwriter in August 2018. It was a commentary on the day’s trading in the Shanghai Stock Exchange, published on Tencent’s stock section of its news portal.

Continue reading AI robot has IP rights, says Shenzhen court →

Networks, Tech

Shenzhen races to 15,000 5G base stations

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Shenzhen has reached its initial target of 15,000 5G base stations ahead of schedule, hitting the goal yesterday, according to local media.

It probably helps that Shenzhen is the home city of network-gear giants Huawei and ZTE. But it should also be noted that the city rolled out a series of lucrative incentives to other developers in order to reach its goal. These included cold, hard cash – 10,000 yuan for every base station opened – as well as subsidies of up to 150 million yuan for operators who pulled the networks together. 

By August next year, 45,000 base stations are expected to have been built, achieving full coverage of the city. This density will lead the country, and provide fertile ground for the development of 5G-related applications.

Read more (in Chinese)

Networks, Tech

Guangdong chooses 5G parks

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Guangdong has announced that three cities have been approved to establish specially designated 5G Industrial Parks. They are: Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Shantou. 

These parks are where more resources will be devoted to creating clusters of companies engaged in cutting-edge development of applications and services build on the new super-fast network standard, according to local media.

Continue reading Guangdong chooses 5G parks →

AI, Tech

Shenzhen leads GBA’s AI thrust

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Shenzhen has the highest potential for developing an AI industry in the GBA, followed by Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Zhuhai, Foshan, Dongguan and Huizhou, according to Guangdong’s leading media group.

Shenzhen’s AI industry ranks third nationally, behind Beijing and Shanghai, in terms of current capability and future development potential of AI, according to the report, published by Nanfang Daily in early December. 

Continue reading Shenzhen leads GBA’s AI thrust →