(Yicai) June 3 -- Shanghai should concentrate on building stronger links between asset management firms and the city’s innovative technology sectors, experts said at a recent symposium. Asset managers need to pay closer attention to the full life cycle of tech startups and offer financial services that support them at every stage.

The biggest challenge for tech startups is getting enough funding and policy support, Liu Yongfeng, founder and chief executive officer of cloud data center chip developer YunSilicon, said at the symposium which was attended by financial and innovation representatives in Shanghai.

Liu called on asset managers to pay more attention to early-stage tech innovators, and offer more venture capital and strategic backing. He also urged regulators to provide more supportive policies for these companies.

Tech firms not only require funding, they also need financial institutions that understand the challenges of research and development and that support market expansion, said Jin Huajun, chairman of biotech firm Juncell Therapeutics. Financial institutions should build long-term partnerships with tech companies to drive innovation and industrial upgrades.

Asset managers need to move beyond traditional products and services and start creating new financing channels tailored to tech firms, said Xu Jun, general manager of the Shanghai Equity Exchange.

Government-backed sci-tech funds should focus on early-stage and small-scale investments to support the growth of market-driven funds, particularly venture capital funds, which are essential for funneling capital to tech startups, said Yang Bin, president of Shanghai Sci-Tech Innovation Center Capital.

The insurance industry should develop customized tech insurance products to meet the diverse needs of tech firms, said Shi Qiang, general manager of CRTC Insurance.

Asset managers should also be given a bigger role in capital markets, to encourage the construction of merger-and-acquisition financial hubs, Yang said. They should also explore the idea of making the Shanghai Free Trade Zone an offshore trading center to create more financing channels for local tech companies.

Foreign asset managers can form a mutually beneficial synergy with the global financial center that Shanghai is building, said Wang Qionghui, director and general manager of J.P. Morgan Asset Management China. Shanghai’s status as an international financial hub is already a big draw for global firms. And their global expertise and resources can, in turn, boost Shanghai’s efforts to become a global financial hub, she said.

Shanghai needs to strengthen the role of asset management as part of the building of the international financial center, said Tu Guangshao, chairman of the Shanghai Finance Institute. This includes transforming inefficient existing assets into productive ones through M&As, while also focusing on the integration of emerging asset forms with traditional ones.

Tu previously served as the vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, executive vice mayor of Shanghai and general manager of China Investment Corporation.

Editor: Kim Taylor