Shanghai is a city with a growing tech scene known for its flourishing fintech, mobile banking and ride-hailing technologies, writes Helen Roxburgh.
The Chinese government has also been pushing state-sponsored tech clusters such as the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park.
Chinese TMT firms are getting bolder and expanding into new markets, and taking larger offices in the city’s central Jingan district or among the sky scrapers of Pudong.
China has also been seeking to draw international start-ups, and in June 2015 the municipal government unveiled policies to encourage entrepreneurs in the city, while unveiling an ambition to become a global technological innovation centre by 2030.
The city is also home to the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, facilitating economic transactions and import/export operations.
THE OCCUPIERS
Some of the biggest occupiers in the city include Baidu, Tencent, IBM, Oracle and Alibaba. China’s largest blockchain start-up, Shanghai-based Juzhen, raised $23m in September 2016, while Lufax, an online finance marketplace headquartered in Pudong, is eyeing an IPO.
Xiaomi is one of the biggest Chinese brands to head overseas; the mobile phone maker is expanding in a big way in India, with $2.5bn in the bank. In July it signed a three-year, $1bn syndicated loan agreement with 18 banks to help with a push into bricks-and-mortar stores globally.
WHO TO KNOW
Christian Lee
New managing director of WeWork Asia
Kenneth Rhee
Chief representative for China mainland at the Urban Land Institute
Zhang Yuliang
Chairman of Shanghai-based Greenland Holdings, one of the mainland’s three largest property developers
Neil Shen
Managing partner of Sequoia China, one of the country’s top venture capital investors
ONE TO WATCH
Pinduoduo, or PDD, a kind of Facebook-Groupon mix that recently raised more than $100m, valuing the company at more than $1.5bn only two years after its was founded.
