In another sign of Chinese warming up to blockchain, the government of Shenzhen city has thrown its support behind a blockchain-focused investment fund, local newspaper Sohu reported.
The move was announced over the weekend at the Blockchain Expo organized by the China Electronic Commerce Association and hosted by Shenzhen. The fund plans to allocate nearly $80 million (500 million yuan) to blockchain startups in the city during the initial phase of its launch.
The Shenzhen Angel Investment Guidance Fund, which was launched late in March by the Shenzhen municipal government, has pledged to provide at least 40%, or $32 million, of the total amount through a public-private partnership. The private sector will contribute the rest of the funds, the report added.
Reporting the launch of the angel fund, the Shenzhen Daily said:
“Through market-oriented and professional operation, the fund will give full play to the allocation of market resources and the guiding role of financial funds, and lead social capital to invest in angel projects. The fund will also speed up the cultivation of angel investment and financing in startups, which will boost the development of strategic emerging industries and promote industrial transformation and upgrading.”
The Shenzhen Angel Mother Fund, the first blockchain special fund for strategic investment, will have a total capitalization of $800 million (5 billion yuan) for allocation into various startups in the city. At least 4% of the fund will go into domestic blockchain-focused projects.
The new blockchain fund will be managed by Donghai and Star Capital, two state-owned investment management companies supervised by the local city government commission.
China’s c-bank backs blockchain project in Hangzhou
The move by Shenzhen follows a similar effort by the People’s Bank of China, which launched a blockchain-as-a-service platform in Hangzhou last month.
The Hangzhou Blockchain Research Institute unveiled a blockchain-powered platform to simplify the bureaucratic process for foreign and domestic entities in the region. The institute also launched its Blockchain Registry Open Platform (BROP) during the Global Financial Science and Technology Summit in Hangzhou.
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