Shanghai Daily Saturday 15 June 2013 |
BUSINESS C3 |
A bird’s eye view of the Changfeng business zone in Putuo, home of the Changfeng Financial Port.
— Chen Min
3 years on Changfeng Financial Port a success
Li Anlan
Three years ago, Changfeng Financial Port was established in an effort to make Putuo a leading
district attracting brokerage houses, private funds, financial institutions and accounting firms.
Since then, the port has welcomed 92 firms companies worth 12.6 billion yuan (US$2.03 billion). Thirty-four funds have invested in projects worth around 4 billion yuan in fields such as new materials, chemical engineering, mineral resources and transportation.
Changfeng Financial Port is a platform that combines direct and indirect fundraising.
The complete, multi-level coverage of corporate financial service systems solves the finance issues of many smalland medium-sized companies, making the harbor an ideal place for them to develop.
Changfeng International Mansion at 88 Yunling Rd E. was invested by the district’s state-owned assets management company. In the first three years, the office space is leased rent-free. With lower entry costs and other incentives, companies can start out on the right track.
Shanghai Changying Capital was founded in 2011 with a scale of 500 million yuan and an operation length of 10 years. The fund mainly invests
in consumer goods, medical care, agriculture and new energy.
The fund led by the Putuo District Government combines state capital with private capital in an effort to support mediumand smallsized enterprises in the district and guide excellent companies to the capital market.
Adding a financial sector port to the Changfeng business district aims to attract capital funds as well as resources and companies.
“To define a high level business district, you have to have the finance sector,” said Zhou Shuiwen, president of Shanghai NewMargin Ventures, a leading Chinese venture capital management company founded in 1999.
NewMargin was one of the first companies to settle in Changfeng three years ago, at a time when the industry was booming and more people entered the market.
“To support us, the Putuo District of Shanghai State-owned Assets Management Co invested 100 million yuan
in our first fund installment and 50 million yuan in second installment as a general partner,” Zhou said.
In three years, the company has invested in 18 projects, he said.
“Policy wise, each district is more or less the same, but what we value here is the great environment and adequate services,” Zhou said. “Our line of
New plaza opens
THE new MTR City Plaza in Changfeng business zone where the Changfeng Financial Port is located has attracted many domestic and international companies.
Launched on May 17, developers have leased 5,036 square meters of office building space, valued at 191 million yuan (US$31 million).
CityShop and Jackie Chan are among the tenants.
The place is near Metro Line No. 13. All four exits of Zhenbei Station will have access to the plaza.
The sunken plaza on ground is designed according to environmental concepts and conserves energy.
(Xiao Li)
business likes the effect of concentration, and a lot of people here are my friends.”
In two years, Changying has invested in two companies, Hangzhou Synochip Technologies and Shanghai Linguo Tech.
Xu Jianping, a partner of Shanghai Changying Capital, was also one of the
founders of Changfeng Financial Port. “We not only think about invest-
ing outside, but also about bringing companies back to Putuo,” Xu said. “NewMargin was the first company to settle in Changfeng, and their tax
revenue for the first year was 105 million yuan, so it definitely has impact on the district.”
The finance port creates opportunities and a place for communication between different capital funds.
“The success of Changfeng Finance Port was the result of all the support we got from the government and
Putuo State-owned Assets Management Co,” Xu said, “Putuo was not developing fast back then, but it acted in time and provided assistance throughout the process.”
Recently, Putuo District is aiming to develop the Taopu area in the west, a less-developed place once crowded with factories. The 19,521-acre area
has not been used efficiently and there are plans for a complete make-over.
The development will require massive efforts, time and money. Since Changfeng has successfully built a financial port, it is ready to “give back” by supporting Taopu, said Xu. Taopu’s development will provide more economic opportunities and benefit all parties, he said.
(Chen Yufei contributes to the story.)
New green city to rise in old industrial zone
An artist’s rendition of the central commercial complex of the new zone to rise in Taopu area.
Li Anlan
TAOPU Town in northwest Putuo District was once a heavy industrial zone of polluting factories and sprawling warehouses, a place lagging far behind the times.
Today, the nearly 20-square- kilometer (4,942 acre) area has great potential to become a new, green development zone called “Wisdom Town” focusing on high technology and commerce.
Plans call for a new city to rise from the old industrial zone. The blueprint call for a
central commercial complex connected with Metro Line 11, a high technology and research zone, a business and
commerce sector, as well as an ecological residential area.
Last October, Putuo contracted with Caohejing Hi-Tech Park to develop a new intellectual science center. Caohejing, a successful high-technology industrial zone in Xuhui District, generates around 30 billion yuan (US$4.8 billion) in sales per square kilometer a year, is expected to give Taopu a boost on its way to becoming a major development zone.
For the past 10 years, Taopu has been cleaning up and managing the heavy pollution cause by rapid industrial development.
Factories were closed and more than 10 new green zones were built, including a one- square-kilometer green wedge.
In 2009, Taopu officially became a “production-based services functional area” (Taopu Area) and a key part of Shanghai’s blueprint for transforming old industrial areas.
The aim is to revitalize the area, making it a landmark in the western part of Shanghai.