An engineer assembles an axial-flow compressor at a workshop of the Shaanxi Blower (Group) Co., Ltd., a state-owned enterprise, in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, November 18, 2020. Photo: Xinhua

 
Initiated by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), a fund with an initial value of 51 billion yuan ($7.18 billion) has been launched in Beijing to assist centrally administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to develop strategic emerging industries and is now ready for investment, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

The fund, set up and managed by China Reform Holdings (CRHC), is ready for investment and is set to accelerate the development of strategic emerging industries, according to CCTV.

The first phase of the fund has a scale of 51 billion yuan, with CRHC intending to contribute some 15 billion yuan. The fund has an investment period of five years and a management and exit period of eight years. The investment period can be extended by up to two years, making a total duration of 15 years.

As a specialized fund under SASAC to promote the accelerated development of strategic emerging industries in central enterprises, the fund will support central SOEs in addressing weaknesses in their industrial chains and deploying cutting-edge innovations, and further enhancing their core functions and competitiveness. The fund will focus on supporting strategic emerging industries such as artificial intelligence, aerospace, high-end equipment, and quantum technology, as well as key areas in future industries like future energy, future information, and future manufacturing.

Some of the sectors were mentioned in the Recommendations of the Communist Party of China Central Committee for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development, which was adopted by the recently concluded fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

In accordance with the directives of SASAC, the fund will prioritize serving national strategic needs, strengthen and complement industrial chains, and facilitate central enterprises in scaling up and improving the quality of their strategic emerging industries. Also, the fund will accelerate the layout and development of these industries by central enterprises and promote high-level self-reliance and strength in key sectors.

Central SOEs occupy an important link in China's drive to promote sci-tech innovation.

China could tap its institutional advantage of having the combined strengths of both "national team" that press for breakthroughs in the basic research and development and that of the vast private sector which excels in promulgating wide and swift application, Cong Yi, a professor at the Tianjin School of Administration, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Global Times