China’s Tsinghua Science Park is putting together a $286-million investment fund to help tech firms develop local standards and improve their global competitiveness within five years.
Officials of the Beijing-based science park said they have targeted ten companies as candidates this year as so-called "diamond enterprises." The firms include mobile communication chip provider Spreadtrum Communications, memory design house GigaDevice Semiconductor and digital video system designer Sumavision Technologies.
The fund is largely composed of park-guaranteed loans from five local banks, which totals about $1 billion in funding that may or may not be fully used during the next four to five years. The park will provide $26 million and raise an additional $260 million in venture capital through 2011, according to science park deputy manager Ma Yangbiao.
There are no detailed plans on how funding will be divided on an annual basis, Ma said.
There will also be some strings attached. Each enterprise must establish a relationship with a local university or industry research group. And companies will likely have to spend some of the money working on projects that support local standards.
Companies in fields such as Internet services and software will also be considered for funding. (52RD.com) |
