(ECNS) -- China will launch one to three innovation investment funds to further facilitate government-owned enterprises, according to the State assets regulator.
The funds aim to expand the investment resources of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) to help them transform technological innovations into mature products, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC).
On the one hand, it aims to integrate technological innovation with funding support, while on the other, it encourages SOEs to invest in or acquire promising innovative companies.
This is the first time that the SASAC has launched innovation mother funds to facilitate central enterprises to grow on dual tracks of technology and capital.
Li Jin, an enterprise researcher, says "by establishing funds, our nation is consistently exploring profitable methods to marketize central enterprises." Programs and enterprises that yield significant technological achievements will be awarded with investments. It is especially beneficial for enterprises that develop considerable economic impact, mature industry chains and global competitiveness. The manufacturing industry, for example, is expected to be one of the first to receive such funds.
The SASAC also continues to support central enterprises by launching special internal funds to offer financial assistance. By the end of 2014, central enterprises had launched or participated in 57 such funds.
According to official data from the SASAC, central enterprise R&D investment was 318.8 billion yuan (about $51.36 bln) in 2013, a significant jump from 70.1 billion in 2006. By the end of 2013, enterprises owned 2,508 research institutes inside China and another 55 abroad, with about 25 percent being national-level institutes.
China is still trailing developed countries in key as well as basic technological areas, says a central enterprise insider. Without sufficient R&D investment, central enterprises fail to lock up high-tech talents.
