On October 17, the Second Jinan Science and Technology Finance Forum took place in Jinan, known as the “Spring City.” The event focused on Jinan’s pioneering role as the first National Pilot Zone for Science and Technology Finance Reform. It aimed to explore new pathways and models for financial support of technological innovation, fostering mutually beneficial growth between scientific innovation and finance.
The forum, themed “Tech Finance: Moving Forward,” was organized by Caixin Media and supported by Qilu Bank and Jinan Financial Investment Holding Group. It attracted renowned experts, scholars, financial institutions, and representatives from tech enterprises both domestically and internationally.
During the opening remarks, Jinan’s Deputy Mayor and Mayor Yu Haitan highlighted that since Jinan was approved as a pilot zone for science and technology finance reform in November 2021, the city has adhered to two main principles: enhancing the innovation capabilities of enterprises and promoting mutual empowerment and win-win scenarios between finance and technology. The pilot zone has explored ways to improve the professional service capabilities of financial institutions and markets, enrich the supply of tech finance, better match tech finance services with the needs of innovative enterprises, and strengthen the role of government guidance funds to gather diverse innovative capital.
“After over two years of practical exploration, the construction of Jinan’s science and technology finance reform pilot zone has made significant progress, effectively promoting the deep integration of technology and finance,” Yu stated. He noted that the achievements are evident in two aspects: first, the city has experienced a new elevation in innovation capacity, with a growing number of innovative entities, accelerated transformation of technological achievements, and an increasingly prominent industrial leadership; second, the city’s financial institutions have achieved effective growth, reaching new heights in both scale and quality of development.
Yu also pointed out ongoing challenges that need to be addressed collectively: enhancing the risk control system assessment mechanisms for financial products aimed at tech enterprises; cultivating talent with expertise in both finance and technology; balancing the risks and rewards of bank technology finance operations; exploring more flexible interest rate pricing; and boosting the capital market’s capacity to support technological innovation.
Throughout the day, experts, scholars, and representatives from financial institutions and tech companies delivered keynote speeches and engaged in discussions during sub-forums on topics such as “Innovative Banking Services: Expanding New Financing Methods for Science and Technology,” “Unlocking the Potential of Innovative Capital to Propel New Productive Forces,” and “Leveraging Multi-Layered Capital Markets to Empower Science and Technology Solutions.”
Additionally, the forum featured the “2024 Jinan Industrial Fund Ecology Conference” and organized several site visits, including “Foreign Financial Institutions’ Visit to Jinan” and “Venture Capital and Private Equity Tour of Jinan,” showcasing Jinan’s pioneering experiences in the tech finance sector and building a platform for collaboration between financial capital and technology projects.
