Venture capital coming - THE State-Level Hi-Tech Development Zone signed an agreement with Sequoia Capital last Tuesday to provide start-up venture capital funding. The world-renowned company will finance the seed, early and growth stages of the Zhuhai Sequoia Equity Investment Centre.
Sequoia is a venture capital firm founded by Don Valentine in 1972. The firm has offices in the US, China, India and Israel. With total capital exceeding $4 billion, Sequoia has funded more than 500 enormously successful companies including Google, Yahoo, Paypal, Electronic Arts, NVIDIA, Cisco Systems, Oracle, Apple, YouTube, Admob and Zappos. Sequoia estimates that 14 percent of NASDAQ’s value is made up of firms they have funded.
The investment centre will mainly serve hi-tech, cultural and creative and high-end service industries and provide value-added services in industrial resources integration and channels of getting listed.
While at Southern Software Park in Jinding of Tangjiawan Town, the hi-tech zone also signed agreements with the Bank of Communications Zhuhai Branch and Zhuhai Rural Credit Union. This will set up Wings for Growth, a finance platform for small and medium-sized enterprises. They also announced establishment of a financial service platform for scientific and technical businesses in the zone.
Mayor Zhong Shijian and Vice Mayor Wang Qingli were at the signing ceremony.
Gaming portal opens
DUOWAN Information Technology Co Ltd Zhuhai came into operation at the Internet Industrial Park of the State-Level Hi-tech Development Zone last Tuesday.
Launched in April 2005, Duowan is the leading gaming portal in China. It has built the most powerful system for game clans, servicing hardcore gamers. YY, Duowan’s client software, is the largest and most popular voice-based gaming tool in China. Besides communicating when playing games, YY users can actively chat with friends, sing karaoke and listen to the radio.
Duowan.com, encompassing more than 300 online game areas, is one of the most preferred game portals in China. With average daily page views reaching 66 million, the website has 6.5 million independent IPs and 40 million users. Over 1.5 million user counts are registered daily with the greatest number of page views and visitors.
Zhuhai will become the headquarters and a R&D base, according to Dong Rongjie, general manager of the Zhuhai company.
Mayor Zhong Shijian and Vice Mayor Wang Qingli cut ribbons for the initiation ceremony.
Kite tourney today
TWENTY professional kite performance teams from home and abroad are competing this weekend at the two-day Gree Cup International Kite Tournament in Tangjiawan Town. Cosponsored by the State-Level Hi-tech Development Zone and the municipal Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau, the event is organised by Tangjiawan Cultural & Tourist Co Ltd.
The tournament encompasses kite contest, stunt performance, display and experience, especially since the oldest player is more than 80 years old. The longest kite string is 3,000m (3km). Domestic teams are from Beijing, Tianjin, Hubei, Qingdao, Nanjing, Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan, Jilin, Xuzhou and elsewhere. Other competitors hail from Malaysia, Japan, the US, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, plus Hong Kong, Macao and Taipei. Three teams are entered from Zhuhai.
Prizes for the longest, largest, most fluid, best effect in air, excellent traditional, best stunt performance and more will be awarded at the end of the event today.
Island ferry cheaper
FERRY fares to various islands were lowered by 30 percent as of May 1. Island residents older than 60 ride for free and middle and primary school students enjoy a 40 percent discount, it was announced at a conference held last Monday. The approved fare will remain unchanged for two years, a spokesperson from the municipal Transport Bureau said.
Routes from Xiangzhou Beidi Port to Guishan covering Dong’ao, Wailingding, Wanshan and Dangan islands; from Hengqin Island to Dong’ao and Baili islands; and from Gaolan Port to Hebao Island are available.
Railway progress fast
ABOUT 80 percent of the Guangzhou-Zhuhai Railway Zhuhai Section main body has been completed, and the entire line will come into operation by the end of next year.
Under construction since the end of April 2008, the Guangzhou-Zhuhai Railway will feature freight transport with reserved passenger transport. Dubbed the No1 Project in Zhuhai, it will access Beijing-Guangzhou, Guizhou-Guangzhou, Wuhan-Guangzhou and other trunk railway lines.
Hutiaomen Bridge, an important part of the line, has seen construction of the bridge girder with 248m main span. In addition, Longxin Tunnel, the only tunnel along the line, has been cut through.
The Zhuhai Section has taken the provincial lead in acquiring land in the shortest possible time, coordinating with the municipal government in a perfect way, overcoming the most difficult engineering techniques, progressing the fastest and maintaining the highest quality, according to a construction manager.
