The Optics Valley Incubates Its Finance Function

By Liu Dongli & Zhang Shanni

Aiming for a world-class financial technology center

Connecting creativity with capital was a formula for Silicon Valley’s successful development into the world’s center of technological innovation. It’s a sure bet that Silicon Valley wouldn’t even exist as we know it today without capital investment.

On December 26, 2017, Wuhan East Lake High-Tech Development Zone held a conference at China Optics Valley Convention and Exhibition Center in conjunction with the “Five Valleys Joint Development Project” promoting the growth of Optics Valley, Biomedics Valley, SmartTech Valley, Finance Valley, and Talent Valley to release the overall development plan for Finance Valley.Additionally, a special forum for Finance Valley’s development and the publicly held companies’ tour of Optics Valley was conducted simultaneously.Meanwhile, the Optics Valley Financial Holding Group and the Optics Valley Industry Development Fund with a registered capital of 50 billion yuan have come into operation.

Wuhan Finance Valley aspires to develop itself into one of the world’s top fintech centers, modeled after the Silicon Valley in the United States and Shenzhen’s Qianhai District in China’s Guangdong Province. By the year 2020, its development into a new major pilot zone for financial development,credit facility, and capital innovation in China will be complete.

Many well-known financial institutions have established their affiliated agencies in Optics Valley.Yet without adequate and concentrated financial backing, Optics Valley still lacks self-sufficientfinancial institutions which are able to resolve their own solvency issues. This shortcoming has become increasingly significant since the establishment of Wuhan Branch affiliated to Hubei Pilot Free Trade Zone.

創意和資本的高效對接，是美國硅谷崛起為全球科創中心的秘密。沒有資本就沒有硅谷。

2017年12月26日，在中國光谷科技會展中心，武漢東湖高新區舉行了光谷、藥谷、智谷、金谷、才谷 “五谷共建”推進會、金谷發展暨上市公司光谷行專場活動，對外發布“金谷”發展規劃。光谷金融控股集團和光谷500億元的產業發展基金隆重掛牌。

據此，武漢金谷將建設全球領先的科技金融創新中心，對標硅谷、深圳前海等地區。到2020年，形成國內領先的新金融集聚發展先行區、資本融通便利先行區、資本市場創新先行區，目標是最終建成全球領先的科技金融創新中心。

此前，在光谷區域內的多家知名金融機構多是其分支機構，平臺規模較小，相對分散，光谷始終缺乏能自主“闖關”的金融主體。這一短板在湖北自貿區武漢片區掛牌以來，尤為明顯。

對于初創型企業來說，在海關與外管局之間來回奔走，耗費的各項成本巨大。組建光谷金融控股集團（下稱“光谷金控”），便成為必然之舉。

作為核心空間載體，總占地55公頃的“金融谷”正在建設，規劃布局科技金融、財富管理、平臺服務三大主體功能。“金谷”空間布局已初具雛形。

目前，“金谷”核心主體初步搭建完畢，按“政府主導切入、市場主導運作”思路，以打造國際領先的現代科技金融綜合控股集團為目標，成立光谷金融控股集團；500億光谷產業發展基金設立，正在引導設立2500億母基金。光谷科技銀行、光谷科技證券、光谷科技保險、光谷科技租賃……國內外知名科技金融機構紛紛落戶，金融總部聚集區正在形成。

接下來，東湖高新區將邀請全球范圍內的知名金融機構、投資機構、產業集團共同參與光谷產業發展基金，參與“五谷”建設。

注：五谷共建——以“光谷”品牌為引領，推進光谷、藥谷、智谷、金谷、才谷“五谷”建設。推進光電產業轉型升級，建成享譽世界的“光谷”；提升生物產業競爭力，建設具有國際競爭力的“藥谷”；要全力培育智能產業，建設具有國際影響力的“智谷”；提升科技金融服務水平，建設具有全國影響力的“金谷”；推進全球人才自由流動與自在生活工作，建設全球知名的“才谷”。

For start-up enterprises often being shuttled between Customs and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, soaring costs may have been a major deterrent, thus the establishment of the Optics Valley Financial Holding Group (hereinafter referred to as “the OVFHG”) proved necessary.

The 55-hectare main zone of Finance Valley is currently under construction. The blueprints list three main divisions: the financial technology sector,finance management sector, and platform service sector. Finance Valley’s initial layout is already complete.

The initial construction work on the main part of the Finance Valley is now complete. Based on a hybrid “government-led and market-oriented model,” the OVFHG was founded with the ambition of building a world-class integrated fintech holding group. It also set up a 50 billion yuan fund for industrial development in Optics Valley. Seed money of 250 billion yuan is currently being channeled into the fund. Famous fintech institutions home and abroad, including the Optics Valley Hitech Bank,the Optics Valley Hitech Securities Corporation, the Optics Valley Hitech Insurance Company, the Optics Valley Hitech Leasing Group and the like, have found a home in the Valley and formed the core of financial headquarters.

Going forward, the East Lake High-Tech Development Zone will invite celebrated financial and investment institutions and industrial groups from across the world to join in the Optics Valley Industrial Development Fund and become a partner in the joint development of the Five Valleys.(Translation: Liu Jie)

Note: The joint development of the Five Valleys refers to the development of Optics Valley,Biomedics Valley, SmartTech Valley, Finance Valley,and Talent Valley, led by the brand and development of Optics Valley. The main targets are: to build Optics Valley into a celebrated high-tech zone by upgrading and transforming the optoelectronics industrial base; to make Biomedics Valley internationally competitive by enhancing the competitiveness of the biotechnology industrial base; to increase the international influence of SmartTech Valley by fully developing local smart technology industry;to increase the national influence of Finance Valley by improving the financial technology service level;and to build Talent Valley into a place popular and known throughout the world, which boosts the free flow of global talents and provides an easy-going environment for them to live and work.