Policies help firms expand in Shanghai

The Shanghai municipal government announced last month several measures to promote the high-quality development of the software and information technology industry, aimed at leveraging the sector as a key engine in supporting the city's economic growth, according to an official notice.

Effective July 1 to June 30, 2028, these incentives cover 17 aspects in four main categories.

These are: enterprises that meet certain criteria will be eligible for relevant incentives; AI-driven improvements will be promoted to enhance the industry; supportive policies for the cultivation of the industry will be improved, and cost-saving and burden-reducing measures for businesses will be facilitated.

The software and information technology industry not only plays a significant role in the high-quality development of Shanghai's existing services sector, but also serves as an important force in building the city's strengths in the future, said Qiu Wei, chief engineer of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, during a news conference last week.

According to Qiu, the software and information technology industry generated more than 690 billion yuan ($96 billion) in revenue during the first five months, up 20.4 percent year-on-year and better than the nation's average of 14.3 percent.

Specifically, the software and information technology services industry serves as a major driving force in the overall software and information technology industry by contributing about 360 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 27.1 percent, led by integrated circuit design and intelligent cloud computing services.

According to the notice, more than 16,000 enterprises specialized in the software and information technology industry in the city will have the opportunity to benefit from the supportive policies, including over 3,200 enterprises above a designated size, or enterprises with annual revenue of at least 20 million yuan.

Liu Shanquan, vice-president of INESA (Group) Co Ltd, said his company has been encouraged by the new policy, now exploring opportunities in key businesses, such as computing power expansion, and optimizing business structure.

INESA reported 2.8 billion yuan in revenue in its main business during the January-May period, including some 2.3 billion yuan generated from providing solutions, up 15.17 percent year-on-year, said Liu.

In terms of supporting the cultivation of new driving forces for the software and information technology industry, the notice said Shanghai wants to up its allure for the digital content industry.

For example, qualified digital content creators, service providers and operators of games, films and dramas, music, livestreaming, micro dramas and mini videos would be encouraged with innovative incubation, registration, trading and financing services.

To enrich and expand the application scenarios of digital technologies, breakthroughs in key technologies will be backed.

"The all-around support from the government provides a strong impetus for companies like us," said Liu Yaqin, executive director and assistant to the general manager at Intsig Information Co Ltd.

All of the city's districts reported positive growth in revenue generated from the software and information technology industry in the first half, said Qiu.

"Pudong New Area generated 431.03 billion yuan revenue in the sector alone last year, accounting for 27.2 percent in Shanghai," said Xia Yuzhong, deputy director of the Pudong New Area's commission for science, technology and economy.

After more than two decades of transformation, Yangpu district has expanded its digital economy's industrial scale to more than 320 billion yuan, ranking second across Shanghai, said Sun Limin, deputy director of Yangpu district's commission for science, technology and economy.