(Yicai Global) Sept. 25 -- Shanghai will focus more on grassroots innovation when introducing relevant policies, an official of the city's municipal government said yesterday.

"In terms of policy requirements for innovation and entrepreneurship, the next phase of Shanghai's focus will be on grassroots innovation," Zhu Qigao, deputy director of the Shanghai Science and Technology Committee, said at the 2017 Pujiang Innovation Forum.

The development of Shanghai is nearly evenly supported by state-owned capital, foreign capital and private capital. Compared with other provinces and cities, Shanghai still lags behind in advancing private economy, mass entrepreneurship and innovation, said Zhu.

The city will establish relevant parent funds in the future, Zhu told Yicai Global. Next, Shanghai may set up a USD760 million (CNY5 billion) to CNY20 billion fund in the field of life sciences and biomedicine to support entrepreneurism and innovation.

Shanghai will set up a series of co-working spaces to foster development by providing more young, aspiring innovators a relatively cheap place to toil away. The city will introduce tax policies that are more favorable for these entrepreneurs, said Zhu.

Established on Sept. 23, Shanghai Technology Innovation Center Equity Investment Fund Management Ltd. aims to have CNY30 billion worth of assets under its management and raise CNY6.52 billion in its first tranche of financing.

It will focus on the information technology, biomedicine, advanced manufacturing, environmental protection and new energy industries and invest in sub-funds and emerging tech companies and startups.