Shanghai's "Park Economy" Undergoes a Thorough Review: From "Landlords" to "Managers" – The Voices of Small and Medium-Sized Private Parks
Hello everyone, I'm your financial observer. Today, we're not talking about the big multinational corporations or the most bustling office buildings in the city center, but rather about a very crucial yet often overlooked group within Shanghai's economic landscape: the small and medium-sized private parks.
On September 14th, the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission held a special symposium. This time, the participants were not large state-owned parks but 11 private small and medium-sized parks. Why were they chosen specifically? According to Chen Yanfeng, the deputy director of the Commission, it's because these parks face more challenges and difficulties, and they represent the "nerve endings" of the business environment.
If we compare Shanghai's economy to a large tree, the state-owned parks are the sturdy trunk, while the private parks are the lush branches and leaves. The health of the entire tree directly depends on whether these branches can grow freely. Today, we'll break down the information revealed at this symposium into four key areas to see where Shanghai is stuck on its path to creating a "world-class business environment" and where it needs to go next.
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1. The Embarrassing Identity: Using Industrial Land for Office and Cultural Activities, with Renovation Approval Becoming a Barrier
Many locals in Shanghai know that many of the creative and technology parks originated from old factories. For example, Honghui Mengzhi Park, located near Xintiandi, and Debike Sports LOFT in Hongkou have been transformed over the years and are now home to high-tech companies in fashion, design, and sports industries.
The Problem: The land is designated for industrial use, but the activities conducted within are office or cultural and creative (CVC) operations.
This is like building a villa on rural residential land and wanting to open a high-end coffee shop, yet the fire safety and renovation approval processes are still based on rural or industrial standards.
- A representative from Honghui Mengzhi Park complained that fashion and sports brands (such as Under Armour and Asics) have very specific requirements for office renovations that don't fit the industrial land approval criteria.
- The Result: Companies can't go through the formal construction processes and can only rely on ad-hoc meetings with district-level authorities to resolve the issues.
In Plain Language: It's like wanting to convert your backyard into a kitchen, but the city officials say it's for farming, so you can't follow different standards. Many existing parks in Shanghai are facing this issue of mismatch between land use and industrial functions. Companies want to upgrade their facilities, but the procedures are too complicated and unsafe or non-compliant. Shanghai is considering creating a special approval pathway for these CVC/park-based businesses to avoid using outdated factory standards.
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2. Hardware Shortcomings: Insufficient Power and Weak Structures, Preventing Good Projects from Setting Up
If approval processes are the "soft obstacles," then hardware facilities are the "hard injuries." Modern industries, especially those in new energy, advanced manufacturing, and biomedicine, have very high requirements for park infrastructure.
Case 1: Insufficient Power and Load-Bearing Capacity
Baowu Carbon Neutrality Industrial Park (Hulian Baodi · Binjiang Park) focuses on green, low-carbon, and new materials. From March to June this year, they received 161 interest groups, including companies developing robotic surgical instruments and high-end equipment. The parks were attractive due to their space and location, but the main issues were insufficient floor load-bearing capacity and power capacity.
- In Plain Language: Modern research equipment is heavy and power-consuming. Old factory designs were not designed for this kind of use. The power grid and floors can't support the new equipment. It's like trying to install a large industrial washing machine in an old apartment with inadequate plumbing and wiring.
Case 2: Lack of Shared Facilities
Weigao Yunxing Zhichuang Center is involved in medical device development, which requires clean laboratories, animal facilities, and shared testing equipment. Small and medium-sized companies either have to build their own (which is expensive) or rent external facilities (which is inconvenient and time-consuming).
- Suggestion: Could the government establish shared facilities, such as "laboratories and GMP pilot bases," in areas like Hongqiao Qianwan to reduce costs for these companies?
In Plain Language: Parks used to just provide basic structures; now they need to offer comprehensive infrastructure. If the power, water, and heating aren't up to standard, even the best projects won't be able to stay. Shanghai needs to upgrade existing parks, especially in terms of power capacity and structural improvements, which is a role that the government should support through urban renewal efforts.
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3. Information Isolation: Good Policies and Orders Go Unnoticed by Parks and Companies
The symposium highlighted a real issue: information asymmetry.
- Policy Lag: Many corporate-friendly policies are announced at both the city and district levels, but they often take time to reach the parks and then the small and medium-sized companies.
- Resource Barriers: Managers of parks like Tongchuang 717 in Changning District find it difficult to access high-quality resources for scenario development, project collaboration, market procurement, and exhibitions.
- Mismatch between Supply and Demand: Companies in the parks may need parts that other companies produce, but they don't know each other. Li Zhijun from Baowu Park also mentioned a lack of regular supply-demand matching channels.
In Plain Language: It's like shops in a mall operating behind closed doors. The mall (the park) has a list of potential customers (government projects and orders) but doesn't know which shops need them; the shops don't know what the others have to offer. Shanghai's solutions include:
1. Online: Making all policies and financing services available immediately (13 banks have joined, with 700 million yuan in financing available for those without collateral).
2. Offline: Establishing regular communication platforms between industry leaders and upstream/downstream companies to facilitate direct order matching and information flow.
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4. Reimagining the Role of Parks: Transforming Private Parks into Powerful Tools for the Business Environment
The final and most important point is that the role of private parks is changing.
In the past, parks were seen as mere landlords collecting rent. Now, Shanghai wants them to transform into industrial ecosystem service providers. Private parks, with their flexibility and quick response, are expected to play a key role in improving the business environment.
- Current Situation: Many private parks (such as Putuo Tanjia 28 and Pudong Jiaotou Luguang) are responsive to company needs, but they face challenges in accessing municipal-level innovation resources.
- Requests: Private parks hope to be included in the municipal innovation support lists and receive more promotion and project support for industrial development.
- Vision: They aim to specialize and differentiate, focusing on specific industries (e.g., pet economy or elderly technology). The government plans to grant licenses and resources to these parks, enabling them to become partners and mentors for companies.
In Plain Language: The government is recognizing that private parks are the "capillaries" of innovation, better understanding the needs of small businesses. It plans to provide licenses and resources, allowing them to help companies with orders, funding, and policies. This transformation turns parks from mere landlords into partners and facilitators of the business ecosystem.
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Summary: What Does Shanghai's "Business Environment 10.0" Aim to Solve?
This symposium is essentially a survey for Shanghai's "Business Environment 10.0" initiative. From version 1.0 to 9.0, Shanghai has been optimizing approval processes and reducing taxes and fees. Version 10.0 will focus on industrial ecosystems and upgrading existing parks.
The main goals are:
1. Addressing Identity Issues: Streamlining the approval process for using industrial land for CVC activities to legally transform old factories into new spaces.
2. Improving Hardware: Supporting infrastructure upgrades through urban renewal funds for power capacity, structural improvements, and shared facilities.
3. Enhancing Connectivity: Creating digital platforms and offline mechanisms to ensure that policies, funds, and orders reach small and medium-sized companies effectively.
4. Enhancing Status: Elevating the status of private parks and integrating them into the municipal resource system to boost their role as ecosystem service providers.
In One Sentence: Shanghai is shifting the business environment from a one-way service model (government to companies) to a collaborative model involving the government, parks, and companies. For entrepreneurs, this means that the managers of the parks may know better than you how to help you with funding, orders, and procedures. This is the true essence of a good business environment.