Located in the Yangtze River Delta region, which is China's most economically dynamic region, Kunshan City is like a dazzling jewel set in the hinterland of the south of the Yangtze River.
This is a county seat in Jiangsu Province that is "rich and rivals the province". After becoming the first county-level city in China with a GDP exceeding 500 billion yuan in 2022, Kunshan's GDP will increase by another 5% in 2023. You must know that in 2023, the GDP of Qinghai and Tibet provinces will be 380 billion yuan and 240 billion yuan respectively. A county-level city can compete with the economic strength of a province, but it is not surprising who makes Kunshan the "most bullish county".
Kunshan has been in the bag for 19 consecutive years since 2005 and has never been left behind. According to the latest "2023 China Top 100 County Economy Research", Kunshan continues to lead the list of top 100 counties in 2023 with a GDP of more than 500 billion yuan.
At the same time, in 2023, the total industrial output value of Kunshan will reach another 100 billion level, exceeding one trillion yuan for the third consecutive year, reaching 1,143.3 billion yuan; The total import and export value of the city's foreign trade exceeded 700 billion yuan for the first time, reaching 761.06 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.3%, accounting for 14.5% of the province's total...... A series of figures depict the efforts and progress of a "king of the top 100 counties".
However, Kunshan was not born to be the strongest.
At the beginning, Kunshan was not conspicuous in this rich land south of the Yangtze River. Due to the weak industrial base and the agricultural economy accounted for more than half, Kunshan at the beginning of the reform and opening up did not keep up with the pace of development of the "southern Jiangsu model" in a timely manner, not to mention that compared with Wuxi, Changzhou and other places that relied on the "southern Jiangsu model" to drive economic growth, even in Suzhou, Kunshan is also the last of the six counties under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, and the economy is called "Little Liuzi" because of the "bottom".
If you are poor, you will think about change. The "little six sons" who are not willing to be left behind have taken a step to catch up.
Looking at the urban development of Kunshan in the past few decades, after going through different stages of development such as "agriculture to industry", "internal to external", "scattered to agglomeration", "low to high" and "large to strong", Kunshan has completed one perfect transformation after another, ranking first among China's top 100 counties for 19 consecutive years, and becoming the "first sample" of China's county economy.
Kunshan's economic strength should not be underestimated, and in the capital market, there is also a "Kunshan Army" with full stamina. Compared with other cities, Kunshan achieved a "zero" breakthrough of listed companies a little late. It was not until 2009 that Xinning Logistics successfully IPO on the GEM, and Kunshan had its first listed company.
Although it started late, on the way forward, Kunshan has reaped promising results. In the past 15 years since 2009, Kunshan has accumulated 48 listed companies, ranking among the top cities of the same kind in the country, including 33 domestic listed companies, with a total market value of more than 200 billion yuan.
The number 48 is the beginning for Kunshan. With Kunshan's increasingly perfect policies, strong support and industrial cultivation, it will create more opportunities for Kunshan enterprises to connect with the capital market, so as to make the "Kunshan quality" of the secondary market more and more sufficient.
Ran out of 48 IPO super counties
The number of listed companies in a region is often regarded as a hard indicator to measure the economic potential of the region, and it is also one of the "barometers" to measure the quality of the local economy.
Kunshan is no exception. It is well aware that the listing of enterprises is the "accelerator" of economic development, the "strong engine" of transformation and upgrading, and the "fast lane" of industrial growth.
As he said, "Kunshan has always adhered to financial reform and innovation as an important starting point for promoting high-quality development, accelerated the construction of the country's first financial reform pilot zone with cross-strait characteristics, and actively built a listing service system with policy-driven, fund-leveraged, training-driven, and multi-party linkage, so as to boost the 'acceleration' of enterprises' listing." ”
It is not too early for Kunshan enterprises to knock on the door of the secondary market.
It was not until 2009 that the first "Kunshan Enterprise" appeared in the secondary market. However, this did not affect the next 15 years, in this county with a population of 2.1 million, there were 48 IPOs, ranking among the top cities of the same kind in the country.
The latest scene occurred on December 6, 2023, when Aisen shares from Qiandeng Town, Kunshan were listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and won the crown of "the first photoresist stock on the Science and Technology Innovation Board" in one fell swoop. This is the 48th listed company in Kunshan, the 9th listed company on the Science and Technology Innovation Board, and the 100th listed company on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in Suzhou.
Like many members of the "Kunshan Army" in the capital market, Aisen is a science and technology enterprise.
Since its establishment in 2010, Aisen has been deeply engaged in its main business and focused on innovation for more than ten years, and has gradually grown into a leading semiconductor material enterprise in China, and is the first batch of national-level specialized and new "little giant" enterprises recommended and supported by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. In recent years, the company has formed a layout of two major product segments, electroplating solution and supporting reagents, photoresist and supporting reagents, focusing on the two key process links in the semiconductor manufacturing and packaging process of electronic electroplating and lithography, which are widely used in integrated circuits, new electronic components and display panels.
There are many science and technology enterprises in the "Kunshan Army" that are the same as Aisen shares, such as Longteng Optoelectronics, Zelgen Pharmaceutical, Arctech, Dongwei Technology and other "high-quality stocks" are Kunshan enterprises. It is worth mentioning that with the listing of Superstar Legend on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in July 2023, Kunshan also has its own "first share" of the metaverse industry. And the data shows that in recent years, 100% of Kunshan's gazelle enterprises, 93% of specialized and special new enterprises, 59% of unicorn cultivation enterprises, 93% of A-share listed enterprises and 100% of science and technology innovation board enterprises have grown from high-tech enterprises.
The standout of science and technology enterprises is precisely the presentation of Kunshan's innovation and development strength.
From the perspective of the listing reserve echelon, Kunshan currently has 60 national specialized, special and new "little giant" enterprises, 2,674 industrial enterprises above the designated size, 2,744 high-tech enterprises, and 698 specialized and special new enterprises at all levels. In terms of refinancing, since 2023, the refinancing amount of listed companies in Kunshan has been about 4.2 billion yuan, and the refinancing amount this year has exceeded the total refinancing amount of listed companies in Kunshan from 2020 to 2022.
Kunshan officials also said that the current capital market is entering a new period of adjustment, and it is also an important opportunity period to accelerate the listing of enterprises. Kunshan will take advantage of the "city", move because of the "city", and follow the "city", continue to polish the "Kunruyi" business service brand, continuously amplify the pilot effect of the Kunshan Golden Reform Zone policy, increase the cultivation of the echelon of listed enterprises, and promote the deep integration of industrial chain, innovation chain, capital chain and talent chain, so that more today's "potential stocks" will become tomorrow's "excellent stocks", so as to promote industrial innovation and development and empower Kunshan to build a county-level demonstration of Chinese-style modernization.
As of the end of 2023, there are 4 companies in Kunshan that have passed the meeting, 4 companies under review, 10 companies in the counseling period, and more than 25 reserve companies on the Shanghai Stock Exchange that have started the listing process, including more than 20 companies on the Science and Technology Innovation Board.
It is foreseeable that there will be a steady stream of IPOs running out of Kunshan.
The first unicorn is worth 24 billion
48 IPOs in 15 years, with enviable results. The capital miracle of Kunshan is not limited to the secondary market, in the primary market, Kunshan also performs well.
In 2023, a super unicorn will run out of Kunshan, and this is also the first Chinese unicorn enterprise in Kunshan's history.
A few days ago, the Hurun Research Institute released the "2024 Global Unicorn List", which lists the world's non-listed companies with a value of more than US$1 billion after 2000, among which Qingtao Energy from Kunshan is on the list, which is the first and only company in Kunshan.
This is an enterprise with "Tsinghua genes".
In 2015, the team of Nan Cewen, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and professor of Tsinghua University, was attracted by Kunshan's business environment and preferential policies in the "Kunshan Week" activity of Tsinghua University. After a year, Academician Nan Cewen went south again, and took students Feng Yuchuan, Li Zheng and others to establish Qingtao Energy in Kunshan Development Zone, mainly engaged in the research and development and production of solid-state lithium batteries and their key materials and production equipment, and built the first solid-state lithium battery production line in China, which is the leader in the industrialization of solid-state lithium batteries in China.
At present, Qingtao Energy has more than 400 R&D personnel, including 10 doctors and more than 260 masters; applied for 1048 patents, including 417 invention patents; A total of 518 patents have been authorized, including 171 authorized invention patents. The company has undertaken more than 20 scientific and technological projects at all levels, and has established Suzhou New R&D Institutions, Suzhou Engineering Technology Research Center, and Suzhou Innovation Consortium. In addition, the School of Materials Science and Technology of Tsinghua University and Kunshan Development Zone jointly built a new material industry transformation base in East China to create a new material industry cluster.
In recent years, Qingtao has continued to improve its industrial layout, and has now built a complete industrial ecological chain of "new energy materials - solid-state lithium batteries - automation equipment - comprehensive utilization of lithium battery resources - incubation of scientific research achievements - industrial investment", and has established long-term cooperative relations with many mainstream car companies.
Qingtao Energy, which has complete independent intellectual property rights, has attracted the attention of many first-line star institutions since the establishment of the team. Since its establishment, Qingtao Energy has completed a total of 10 rounds of financing, the most recent of which occurred in May 2023, and SAIC Motor has invested no more than 2.7 billion yuan in Qingtao Energy. After this round of financing, Qingtao Energy is valued at more than 24 billion yuan, becoming a veritable unicorn.
Interestingly, Qingtao Energy, which is in the limelight in the capital market, is just a footnote to the cooperation between Kunshan and Tsinghua University for 20 years. Kunshan, the "first county", and Tsinghua University, the "first school", have collided with many amazing "sparks" in the past.
Back in August 2003, the Kunshan Municipal Government signed an agreement at Tsinghua University to jointly invest in the construction of the Kunshan Branch of Tsinghua Science and Technology Park (now Kunshan Tus Science and Technology Park), opening a new chapter in school-local cooperation. At that time in 2003, Kunshan had not yet topped the top 100 counties in the country, but at that time, Kunshan had already understood the importance of talent-led development.
Over the past 20 years, Tsinghua University and Kunshan have carried out systematic exploration and cooperation in the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, innovation and entrepreneurship education, summer social practice and other aspects, and have made remarkable achievements.
In particular, many Tsinghua alumni have invested in Kunshan and created great careers together. For example, in 2010, Tsinghua University launched ten major scientific research achievements at the centennial celebration, two of which landed in Kunshan, namely Visionox and Dapress. Visionox laid out the first large-scale OLED production line in mainland China in Kunshan, and was listed on the main board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2010. In 2011, the Kunshan branch of Tsinghua Science and Technology Park incubated the first listed company, Tianrui Instrument; Qingyue Optoelectronics, a "little giant" established based on Tsinghua University's technology, will be listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board in 2022...... and then to the latest Qingtao Energy promotion to the global unicorn, the "Tsinghua phenomenon" in Kunshan frequently.
As of December 2023, more than 300 Tsinghua alumni have innovated and started businesses in Kunshan, and the city has introduced a total of 193 "Tsinghua nationality" entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship talents above the municipal level in Kunshan. Among them, there are 3 listed companies, 2 national-level specialized and new "little giant" enterprises, and 7 unicorn enterprises.
How to refine the most bullish county in the universe?
In addition to cooperating with Tsinghua University, Kunshan has also cooperated with a number of universities in recent years to build a "talent depression" and "siphon" all kinds of talents.
In recent years, Kunshan has been releasing more policy dividends to attract talents. From 2018 to the present, Kunshan has continued to expand the channels of introduction and education, released the magnetic field effect of talents, continuously optimized and improved the "1+N+X" talent policy system, and successively formulated, introduced and iteratively updated more than 50 policies related to the introduction and cultivation of talents.
Nesting attracts phoenixes, flowers bloom and butterflies come. Up to now, Kunshan has a total of 505,000 human resources, 51,200 high-level talents, 105 academician projects, 154 national major talent engineering experts, and 19 listed talent enterprises in the city, including 5 listed companies on the Science and Technology Innovation Board, accounting for 62.5% of the city's listed enterprises on the Science and Technology Innovation Board.
The tide is surging, and thousands of sails are competing. Kunshan is well aware that the carrier of innovation and entrepreneurship is the "plane tree" for attracting and using talents.
Therefore, in recent years, Kunshan has vigorously promoted the construction of innovation and entrepreneurship carriers such as science and technology incubators and science and technology entrepreneurship parks, and has the first national entrepreneurship park for overseas students in the country, and is also the only county-level city that has two national demonstration bases for the cultivation of innovative talents. There are 2,128 R&D institutions at all levels, including 5 national enterprise technology centers and 249 provincial engineering technology research centers. There are 79 science and technology business incubators and maker spaces at or above the provincial level, including 17 at the national level.
High-tech enterprises are the backbone of promoting the high-quality development of the industry. At present, Kunshan focuses on the layout of "2+6+X" emerging industries and promotes the cultivation of high-tech enterprises. To this end, Kunshan has issued 23 policies to support the construction of industrial innovation clusters, issued an action plan for the innovation and development of the metaverse industry, created 6 strategic emerging industries of 100 billion yuan such as new display, new intelligent manufacturing, new medical care, new energy, new materials, and new digital, and planned and built 40 characteristic professional innovation parks with a high-level output value of 600 billion yuan and 300 billion yuan respectively.
"Innovation" is Kunshan's own gene.
At the beginning of the reform and opening up, Kunshan, known as the "Little Liuzi", benefited from "innovation" and opened up a "Kunshan model". With the courage to "dare to eat crabs", they creatively proposed to establish an industrial park in the mode of self-funded development, and opened up an industrial community in the 3.75 square kilometers of farmland in the east of the county at that time with the mode of self-funded development.
In addition to the "old road" of township industry, Kunshan has relied on "innovation" to create a "new road" of "export-driven", and quickly completed the historic leap of "transforming from agriculture to industry". In less than three years from 1984, Kunshan industry has realized the transformation from scratch. Statistics in 1987 show that there were 19 enterprises in Kunshan, with an industrial output value of 278 million yuan, foreign exchange earnings of 8.34 million US dollars, total industrial profits and taxes of 15.28 million yuan, and fiscal revenue of 3.5 million yuan.
Since then, Kunshan has seized historic opportunities such as the development and opening up of Pudong and China's accession to the WTO, introduced foreign investment, focused on Taiwanese investment, and switched momentum...... A "cosmic strong county" that has led China's county economy for 19 consecutive years comes from this.
In today's era, innovation has become a pass for a city to never fall behind. Kunshan, which holds the weapon of "innovation", will have many miracles in the future, and we will wait and see.
来源 | 融中财经（thecapital）
Author | Feng Xiaoting
Recommended reading: (click on the blue text below)
Headlines: 2023 (17th) Jiangsu Business Leaders Annual Meeting / 2023 (10th) Jiangsu Business Development Conference / 2023 Jiangsu Business Advanced Manufacturing Development Summit / 2023 Jiangsu Business Listed Company Summit / 2023 (16th) Jiangsu Business Leaders Annual Meeting / 2021 (9th) Jiangsu Business Development Conference / 2021 (15th) Jiangsu Business Leaders Annual Conference / 2021 Wudao Forum (Spring) / Industrial Interconnection and Digital Economy Innovation and Development Forum / 2020 (8th) Jiangsu Business Development Conference / 2020 (14th) Suzhou Business Leaders Annual Conference / 2020 Suzhou Business School Wudao Forum / The First New Industrial Revolution Strategy Summit / 2019 World Intelligent Manufacturing Conference / Manufacturing City Mayors Forum / Digital Business Conference / 2019 (13th) Suzhou Business Leaders Annual Conference / 2018 World Intelligent Manufacturing Conference / 2018 (6th) Jiangsu Business Conference
Suzhou Business Forum: Huang Qifan, Former Mayor of Chongqing / Song Zhiping, President of China Association of Listed Companies / Peng Jianfeng, the cornerstone of Huaxia / Jin Yinan, Professor of the National Defense University / Cheng Zhiming of Sushang Think Tank / Zhu Xingming of Inovance Technology / Huang Yixin of Nanjing Iron and Steel / Qian Hongjin of Huapeng / Wang Xinchao of Jiangsu Xinchao Innovation Investment Group / Geng Yuhua of Dahai Holdings / Chen Jinshi of Zhongnan Holdings / Li Xinghua of Panhua / Ni Zugen of Lake Electric / Shen Wenrong of Shagang / Zhou Haijiang of Hongdou / Wang Min of XCMG / Jiang Baoquan of Gold Leaf / Jiang Xipei of Far East / Shi Weibin of Yingda Technology / Famous Economist Fan Gang / Dialogue with Mu Zhong / Academician Lu De of the Asian Knowledge Management Association / Li Yizhong, Former Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology / Famous Economist Lang Xianping / Professor Qian Zhixin of Nanjing University / Famous Financial Commentator Ye Tan / Geely Li Shufu / Gree Dong Mingzhu / Hengtong Cui Genliang / Yangtze River Shipbuilding Ren Yuanlin / Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Xu Jingren / Bosideng Gao Dekang / Nanjing University Fan Conglai
Chamber of Commerce Activities: Walk into Chervon Group / Into ZTE Zhike / Into Huapeng Group / Into Wanbang Digital Energy / Into Jinshiyuan / Into Inovance Technology / Into Dahai Holding Group / Into AO Smith / Into Tongfu Microelectronics / Into Zhengchang Group / Into Daming International / Into Dongfang Run'an / Into Subote / Ask Koyo / Ask Baose / Walk into Jiujiu Technology / Walk into Creon Group / Walk into CITIC Pacific Special Steel / Walk into Jianhua Building Materials Group / Walk into Kaiwo Group / Walk into Lake Electric / Walk into Sinovatio / About Sunshine Group / Into Yongding Group / Into Nantong Sijian Group / Into Jinchuang Holding Group / Ask Jinghai Group / Walk into Shanshi Network Technology / Walk into Lixing / Walk into Far East Holding Group / Walk into Huaxing Yuanchuang / Suqian Entrepreneur Sunan Famous Enterprise / Walk into Goodbaby Group / Walk into Zhongyifeng / Ask Ray Group / Walk into Canadian Solar / Ask Jiangsu Tiancheng Technology / Walk into Alibaba / Walk into Yonggang Group / Walk into Changdian Technology / Walk into Shengli Precision / Walk into Daya Technology Group / Walk into Longrich Group / Walk into Yangtze River Pharmaceutical / XCMG Group / Zhongnan Group / Huaihai Holding Group / Aikang Group / Yinbao Holdings / Changsheng Group
Secretary face-to-face: Secretary of Sushang Yizheng face-to-face / Secretary of Sushang Xuyi County Mayor face-to-face / Sushang Hongze District Mayor face-to-face / Secretary of Sushang Chongchuan face-to-face / Secretary of Sushang Qidong face-to-face / Secretary of Sushang Qixia District Mayor face-to-face / Sushang Mayor Zhenjiang face-to-face / "Sushang Secretary District Mayor Face-to-face" into Jiangyan / Sushang Secretary Gaoyou Secretary Mayor face-to-face
Industry-City Integration 1+1: "Lhasa Good Water" On-site Promotion Conference / Zigui County Construction of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area Ecological Protection and Green Development Pilot Zone Promotion Conference / 2023 National Green Building Materials to the Countryside Activity (Jiangsu Station) Launching Ceremony / 2023 Zhuhai High-tech Zone (Suzhou) Industrial Development Cooperation Conference / 2023 Karamay (Jiangsu) Investment Promotion Conference / 2023 Suzhou Businessmen, Chengdu & Fudan Industry-University-Research Docking
END