(Yicai Global) Oct. 20 -- Shanghai Holy Blade Network Technology Co. [NEEQ:839086], based in Shanghai's Jiading district, is the first company in the city to take advantage of individual income tax concessions for angel investment, state-owned Xinhua News Agency reported today.

Angel investment mainly involves a one-off upfront investment in original projects and small startup enterprises. Investors bear greater risks in early stages of the company's development, making this type of investment less common in China.

China's Ministry of Finance and State Administration of Taxation released a pilot program in April this year allowing tax breaks for individual investors making direct equity investments in scientific and technological startup enterprises for two years. Eligible investors are able to offset taxable volumes from share-related income by up to 70 percent of the investment volume. 

Angel investment has served as a booster to the new economy, said Zou Ling, deputy director general at the Shanghai Tax Bureau's Income Tax Division. Shanghai has recently exerted efforts to bring together tax experts, leaders of scientific and technological startups and angel investors to boost this type of funding.