(Yicai) Sept. 9 -- Shanghai has formed a CNY10 billion (USD1.4 billion) government fund to support early-stage technology projects that have the potential to become future industries. 

The Shanghai Future-Oriented Industries Fund, unveiled at the Pujiang Innovation Forum on Sept. 7, is set to accelerate the commercialization of innovative tech achievements while promoting disruptive innovation, multi- and inter-disciplinary innovation, and cutting-edge platform-based technologies.

The 15-year fund, which can be extended by three more years, is fully financed by the Shanghai government to create an environment conducive to long-term investment in innovation.

“Future industries are mainly high-tech industries that require long-term financial investment and stable policy support,” Peng Lei, founder and chief executive of Shanghai-based brain-computer interface company NeuroXess, told Yicai.

The new fund is crucial for supporting and encouraging the development of future industries, ensuring the healthy operation of both primary and secondary equity markets, and promoting the overall development of emerging industries, Peng noted.

The fund will have a direct investment plus sub-fund investment model, with the former primarily concentrating on major strategic projects in future industries, while the parent fund’s contributions to sub-funds can be as much as half.

Expanding the contribution ceiling to 50 percent from the typical 20 percent represents a significant breakthrough in how sub-funds are structured, given the need to stimulate investment while also controlling risks, industry insiders told Yicai.

At the start of the year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, and four other departments issued a policy document encouraging leading enterprises to take the initiative in forming innovation consortiums to advance key tech breakthroughs in future industries.

The document's six major areas of focus for future industries included the fields of manufacturing, information technology, materials, energy, space, and healthcare.

Among the many supporting policies proposed in the document were measures to guide local governments in establishing special funds for future industries, encouraging multinational companies and foreign research institutions to build cutting-edge research and development centers in China, and promote collaboration between domestic institutions and international organizations.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione