The Shanghai municipal government will allocate 100 million yuan (US$12.57 million) each year in the coming five years to encourage and help university students to establish their own technically innovative businesses, reported Xinhua News Agency on August 28.

Funding for the scheme was initiated by the Shanghai municipal government in March 2005. And by the end of that year, 172 proposals had received financial backing totaling around 24 million yuan (US$3.02 million) from the fund. The financial assistance helped more than 110 companies get off the ground.

According to the report, after financial support had been secured from the scheme, universities or related industrial technology parks should provide further financial support to speed up the development of ideas identified by students.

Those responsible for the finance are taking various measures to encourage such undertakings. Some examples of this include the establishment of business training centers and inviting experts from enterprises and those with venture investment experience to become involved. They would also cooperate with banks to provide follow-up financial support for the businesses.

(China.org.cn by Zhang Yunxing, September 1, 2006)