There was a finance industry seminar at the Wuxi Industrial Design Park in the Binhu district of Wuxi, Jiangsu province, on Aug 22, to push the district's idea of developing a hot spot for venture capital and other forms of investment, which drew in local government officials and representatives from more than 100 non-bank financial institutions and other investment agencies from China and abroad.

The district already has attracted a total of 40 investment companies, worth 8.07 billion yuan ($1.31 billion) in venture capital, but it needs technology and innovation to develop and capital is an important driving force for that, so it wants to bring in more venture capital investment for small-to-mid-sized enterprises in emerging industries and to become a demonstration of modernization in the southern Jiangsu area.

The Industrial Design Park in the district has 30 venture capital firms which cover private equity and funds, with a total of 1.8 billion yuan ($292.03 million) in capital and 2.29 billion yuan ($370.71 million) in assets, making Binhu an appealing site for venture capital investment.

The district is also looking for projects, a trade center, stock deals, an R&D center for micro-sized to small financial enterprises, and a center for salons and forums, and will provide preferential policies such as rent subsidies and tax exemptions to support the growth of venture capital.