PH Consulate General in Shanghai Engages China’s Silicon Valley on Cooperation on Tech SMEs and Startups
Philippine Consul General to Shanghai Josel Francisco Ignacio and Zhangjiang Group Party Secretary and Chairman YUAN Tao (4th and 5th from L) with their respective teams: ·(from left) ZG Marketing Manager Lu, Consul Demdem. ConsulMiranda, Tourism Attaché IReyes, Vice Manager Feng, Business Development Director Lu, and Shangha-PTIC Chief Tani. (Shanghai PCG photo)
SHANGHAI 03 August 2021 – Opportunities for investment, financing and other linkages between China’s “Silicon Valley” and Philippine tech players and startups were front and center at the meeting between the Consulate General and the Zhangjiang Group (ZG), state administrators of Zhangjiang Science City (ZSC) at the Parkyard Hotel on 29 July 2021.
Established in 1992 as the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, ZSC is a 220-sq.km hub hosting world-class industry clusters of over 24,000 global and Chinese companies, R&D institutes, MNC regional headquarters, and universities. It is home to over 400,000 “talents”, whose ranks include five Nobel Peace laureates, foreign employees and 7,500 Chinese who graduated overseas and is currently gaining global reputation especially in life sciences and biomedicine, digital information, and artificial intelligence.
During the meeting, the Consulate General, PTIC and Philippine Department of Tourism made a case for bringing together Philippine and Zhangjiang players in cooperative, mutually beneficial linkages. In particular, the Consulate General highlighted the opportunities offered by the nascent but healthy tech startup sector in the Philippines for venture capitalists based at the ZSC.
ZG confirmed the interest of ZSC companies and entities in overseas forays, including the Philippines, for venture capital, investments and even for markets for its goods, technologies and services; and offered to organize and promote this and other activities at ZSC by the Consulate General and, should travel normalize, by visiting PH officials and industry leaders.
Both sides reached an understanding on undertaking a series of initial activities such as online pocket sessions, presentations, and site visits to the ZSC by the Consulate General, to engage ZSC locators.
From January to November 2020, the total industrial output of ZSC increased 14% year-on-year to RMB 270.39 billion (USD 38.63 billion). Some of the leading global names and brands at the park are QUALCOMM, BROADCOM, NVIDIA, Roche, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, GSK, Microsoft, IBM, Alibaba, Baidu, Honeywell, and AMD.
Philippine Consul General to Shanghai Josel F. Ignacio and ZG’s Chairman and Party Secretary YUAN Tao led the meeting. The Consul General was accompanied by Consul Marlowe A. Miranda, Consul Conrado B. Demdem, Jr., Shanghai-Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) Chief Mr. Mario Tani, and Tourism Attaché Mr. Ireneo Reyes. Chairman Yuan, for his part, was backstopped by Vice Manager Mr. FENG Da, Business Development Director Ms. Chelsea LU, and Marketing Manager Ms. Jin LU. END
Zhangjiang execs briefing Philippine Consulate General officials on ZSCservices, operations, incentives and activities. (Shanghai PCG)
For more information, visit http://shanghaipcg.dfa.gov.ph/.