Artist's rendering of the Guangdong High-Tech Service Zone for Financial Institutions.

The Nanhai district of Foshan, Guangdong province is trying to integrate finance, science and technology, and industrialization to improve its industrial standing overall.

The district already has the Guangdong High-Tech Service Zone for Financial Institutions, but is hoping for stronger co-operative ties with Hong Kong. That is so it can cash in on Hong Kong's international finance and technology advantages.

But it also wants to be one of China's first model cities in the area of innovative science and technology and finance integration, a district official has said.

In that regard, it will be applying for a pilot program of the so called new third board in the provincial high-tech financial service zone to improve the capital market system there.

This "new third board" program was set up as an experiment in transferring non-listed company shares in the third market, but has gradually become an important part of the over-the-counter market for growth enterprises.

The official said that Nanhai also plans to hold an exposition on finance, science and technology to match private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) agencies with high-tech firms to apply R&D achievements commercially.

The district is also trying to establish a province-level high-tech zone in the Nanhai Economic Development Zone and Nanhai Industrial Park, and, in the long run, a State-level high-tech zone, with focus on energy-efficiency, environmental protection, new materials, and IT.

Nanhai has seen some headway in setting up the financial services in the provincial high-tech financial service zone, and in science and technology development with a few industrial parks.

The district has also worked on a site to match fundraisers with high-tech firms or R&D facilities.

The district held its first forum on finance, technology, and industrial integration last year, which attracted representatives of at least 200 PE or VC firms, and 300 growth enterprises and research institutes.

It has 67 financial projects in the provincial high-tech financial service zone and has had more than 100 billion yuan in investment in the past few years, according to official statistics.

(China Daily 10/21/2011 page12)