High-tech companies benefit from favorable policies aimed at success

The improved business environment of the Harbin New Area has provided high-tech companies with opportunities in seeking further development, local officials said.

In 2017, the new area was approved by the State Council as a national demonstration base for entrepreneurship and innovation. The honor has stimulated the new area to improve resources and produce more high-tech companies.

As of 2020, the area was home to 377 high-tech companies, accounting for 32 percent of the total in Harbin and 19.5 percent of those in Heilongjiang.

HyLink, a Shenzhen-headquartered information technology company engaged in public security, founded a branch in the new area in 2016.

The company is relocating its headquarters to the new area after an agreement was signed between the two sides in May.

The new agreement represents HyLink's recognition of the new area over its five years of development and shows its confidence in the future, the company said.

HyLink's branch in Harbin focuses on developing smart products for supporting law enforcement.

Since 2018, the branch has released a series of products such as solutions for intelligent police stations and 5G-powered equipment and systems for police cars.

Last year, the branch took only 12 days to develop three big data products for supporting the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. It achieved a revenue of 113.67 million yuan ($17.51 million) in 2020, up 58 percent year-on-year.

The branch's rapid growth comes from its strong capability in science and technology research and development, said Ding Fusheng, executive deputy general manager of the branch.

"The rapid development of the company is closely tied with the new area's advantages in talents, policies and location," Ding said.

It is the new area's policy support and sound service that made HyLink decide to relocate its headquarters to here, the executive said.

Last year, due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the branch suffered pressures on funding, but the new area helped the branch to get a patent-collateralized loan of 5 million yuan, the first loan of its kind in the new area, and allowed the company to solve capital difficulties in its operation, Ding said.

In the past two years, the new area has launched a series of policies supporting businesses.

In April, the new area issued a policy for supporting companies to go public with 10 items including incentives for companies' operation and personnel.

"The policy, especially its incentive for companies that go public after settling down in the new area, is a great attraction to us," Ding said.

HyLink is preparing to go public and is expected to complete its initial public offering in 2022, Ding said.

After relocating its headquarters to the new area, HyLink said it is estimated to achieve an income of 500 million yuan this year.

To support the company's development, the new area has helped HyLink select sites at its Shenzhen-Harbin industrial park, covering an area of more than 60,000 square meters.

Tangshan Jianhua Industry Group, a graphene company based in Hebei province, moved to the new area in June.

The group, now named Heilongjiang Tangu, is a leading conglomerate nationally in the graphene industry with more than 30 invention patents.

"The greatest attraction for us to move our business to the new area is the rich graphene resources in Heilongjiang, which can provide sufficient materials for the company," said Meng Ying, chairman of the company.

The new company is expected to put its production line, capable of producing 300 metric tons of graphene per year, into production in October, Meng said.

"The high efficiency and supportive services of the new area make us feel strongly supported," Meng said.

She said the new area paid support funds in advance when their equipment was still two days away.

"As a transplanted project, we hope to start operation and production as soon as possible," Meng said.

"The new area provides us with ready-made factories, and that saved at least one and a half years for us to build a plant by ourselves," he said.

It is hoped that the company can develop more technologies and commercialize them in the new area in the next 10 years, Meng added.