(Yicai Global) April 25 -- Shanghai will extend financial support up to a maximum of CNY100 million (USD14.5 million) per project to programs of great strategic importance in emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, integrated circuits and biomedicine.

The municipality will subsidize projects in advanced manufacturing that lure a huge amount of investment and have an excellent showcasing effect by up to CNY100 million or no more than 10 percent of the total investment, the municipal government said today.

The grants will target companies which are the first to break foreign monopolies and are the first home-grown applications in fields such as smart chips, core algorithms, operating systems and basic software, it said. The policy is effective April 20 until April 19, 2028.

In order to speed up the development of metaverse-related projects, such as three-dimensional graphics, imaging and digital modelling, the city will grant handouts up to a maximum of 30 percent of the investment and no more than CNY20 million (USD2.9 million), it said. In this way the city hopes to attract investment from outside the city in over 50 major metaverse application scenarios.

Shanghai will also cultivate over 100 leading companies in the digital economy with large growth potential and invest a maximum of CNY8 million (USD1.2 million) or no more than 20 percent of total investment in their projects.

Shanghai will dedicate two million square meters of working space for the research and development as well as the commercialization of integrated circuits over the next three years, five million sqm for biomedicine and one million sqm for AI, it said. It will help supporting industries through special low-interest loans.

China’s most populous city will also assist programs in professional services such as R&D, design, finance, trade, shipping, technology and human resources and it will support trading firms and private companies which relocate their headquarters in Shanghai.

This eastern megacity will facilitate the introduction of high-quality rural and agricultural projects and encourage companies to expand their investment and production capacity.

Editor: Kim Taylor