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City in the business of helping returnees

2014-10-20 08:54 Shanghai Daily Web Editor: Qian Ruisha
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Entrepreneur Wang Hongtao admits that financial worries caused him sleepless nights when he was trying to get his fledgling industrial coatings company off the ground in Shanghai almost 10 years ago, after returning from the United States to his native land.

Wang had come back from the US in 2005 with US$120,000 to set up Bill-Anda (Shanghai) Lubricating Material Co Ltd, but found it tough going at first.

However, Bill-Anda, which specializes in coatings that minimise wear and corrosion, has since flourished.

Its assets have grown to 50 times their original value in the past nine years and annual revenues have reached up to 10 million yuan (US$1.63 million).

Wang, who now has two companies in China and others in the US and New Zealand, said this is due in no small way to the help he received as a returnee from the Shanghai and national government.

One program that proved a lifesaver for Wang during Bill-Anda's early days was the city's Pujiang Talent Program, which this week celebrated its 10th anniversary.

"I wouldn't have made it without the help of the Pujiang Talent Program fund," said Wang.

"It provided timely help as my company was going through a difficult time.

"The fund helped startup entrepreneurs like me overcome a lot of difficulties in our early years," added Wang.

Shanghai offers a number of local and national schemes to encourage Chinese professionals studying or working overseas to return home and help develop the city as an innovation center in science and technology.

Incentives include creating favorable living and working conditions for returnees, plus financial and government support.

Entrepreneurial parks

Figures show that Shanghai is now home to around 110,000 overseas returnees — an increase of 22 percent on 2010.

Entrepreneurs among the group have established 4,700 companies in the city, with registered capital totaling US$670 million.

And the city boasts 11 entrepreneurial parks for overseas returnees, including Zhangjiang High-Tech Park in the Pudong New Area and Caohejing Industrial Park in Xuhui District.

Talent programs on offer include the One-Thousand Plan, run by both central and local government, and the city government's Pujiang Talent Program, which helped Wang.

In the past 10 years, about 2,500 overseas returnees have received subsidies ranging from 100,000 yuan to 500,000 yuan through the Pujiang Talent Program, according to the Shanghai Foreign Experts Affairs Administration.

Two thirds of those helped by the program work for colleges and universities in the city.

Some 70 percent of recipients are under 40 years old, added officials.

Evidence of the practical benefits of such schemes was seen at the weekend when agreements were signed for 20 projects run by returnees to be based in Jiading District.

Zhang Tong, a professor specializing in renewable energy vehicles at Tongji University, is among those who have received support to move home.

At it celebrates its 10th anniversary, he suggested the Pujiang Talent Program focus on small research projects.

"It can give more help to small companies and young professionals who may bring unexpected outcomes in various fields for the city," Zhang said.

Wang also stressed the importance of returnee schemes.

"I hope that talent plans can continue and can help more people who are willing to come back to China and make contributions," he said.

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