The Exploration of the Development Road for the Private-Owned Science Park
--The Interview with Liu Qun, the General Manager of BIIIB

Reporter of "Invest Beijing", Li Yan

In only several years, the weedy, deserted land in Huilongguan, the northern part of Beijing, has gave way to an international headquarters base with high starting point-Beijing International Information Industry Base (BIIIB for short).

Located in the development region of Zhongguancun, BIIIB, being the industry base of Zhongguancun Changping Science Park, is a new high-tech industry complex region, and it is endowed with ideal geographic advantages and perfect work environment. The planned area of Phase I is over 2000 mu, and the overall development area 10 km2, thus, it has huge development space.

BIIIB regards communications, electronics and information industry as the leading ones. At present, tens of listing high-tech enterprises or enterprises with high-growth such as Cargill that was listed in Fortune 500, and PetroChina International subordinated to PetroChina and etc have entered the park or put into operation. The statistics show that the production value per square kilometer of the base is equivalent to over 13 billion yuan. A modern industry base with in-park enterprises of high level, high production value and high tax has appeared in the world.

Based on the matrix of the Beijing base, BIIIB, from the initial germination, has continually replicated itself in the whole country even in the whole world¡­¡­ As a private-owned science park, BIIIB is illustrating the concept of "park economy" in its own action and ideas.

Transformation to the "headquarters base"

In recent years, along with the deep implementation of market economy system restructuring and the further improvement of laws, policies and environment, the private-owned science parks have developed rapidly, especially those private-funded, private-managed and private-operated science parks completely invested and established by enterprises under the support of local governments have becoming the development trend. After 15 years of development, there are over 200 various private-owned science parks at the provincial level or above in the whole country. With their striking features combing "private-owned system", "innovation system" with "promoting industrialization", private-owned science parks have found a new way to develop science and industry parks.

Under the full support and assistance of the governments at various levels including Huilongguan Office, the management committee of Zhongguancun Changping Park, Changping District and Beijing Municipality, BIIIB has achieved rapid development, becoming a vigorous industry base with high growth.

The 15,000 m2 of roof of the standard workshop in Phase I was successfully sealed last year, and following that, the construction of Phase II with 100,000,000 m2 has been launched. At present, the municipal projects such as "seven connections (i.e., traffic, electricity, water, drainage, telecommunication, cable TV, and coal gas) and one level (i.e., natural land)" of Phase I have been completed, and the corresponding investment promotion is being conducted.

General Manager Liu Qun disclosed some exciting news to our reporter:
China Mobile Communications Corporation renowned as "one of the most valuable enterprise brands in the world" would move all of its Beijing institutions to BIIIB;

Qirui Auto, the leading enterprise of the home-made auto industry, planned to build its northern headquarters and a R&D center with 1000 staffs in Beijing, and the site came in BIIIB;

In addition, a number of IT enterprises represented by Zhaolong Network, which had realized their venture dream in Zhongguancun, also focused their expansion location on BIIIB, which was adjacent to Zhongguancun¡­¡­
Depending on the strong education power of Changping and Haidian District, and Making full use of the regional advantages radiated by Shangdi, Yongfeng and Zhongguancun, BIIIB is endowed with an unparalleled location, which also lays a good foundation for its future development.

Liu Qun told the reporter: "In the inspection, we find that in recent years, more and more large programs have showed up in the surrounding area, which include the villa complexes in the north as well as the Huilongguan cultural community in the south. Besides, with consideration to the convenient transportation of the base, we hold that the investors appreciate the work and living atmosphere. According to the plan of the base, our key task is to fulfill the regulation and transformation of orientation from the early R&D and industry production as the leading ones to the enterprise headquarters, R&D centers and enterprise office as well as some electronic manufacturing, thus, we can bring our regional advantages into full play. A new round of investment promotion will be launched via constructing single buildings for enterprises or the sales of production and office comprehensive building."

The reporter was told that the in-park enterprises could enjoy the double preferential policies from Zhongguancun High-tech Park and Changping District Government. Moreover, with full consideration to the differences of the in-park enterprises on fund, development stage and enterprise scale, BIIIB would also provide "humanized" and "diversified" product portfolio.

The base can not only provide construction land for in-park enterprises, but can provide various services such program initiation and industrial and commercial registration and etc. modern production and office comprehensive buildings, headquarters buildings and complete property service and logistics service can enable the in-park enterprises to manufacture and operate easily and rapidly. With the client's demand as the focus, the base can construct single building headquarters, production and office building and R&D center and so on according to the actual requirements of the planned in-park enterprises. What's more, the supporting business facilities such in the exhibition center, business hotel, chamber and bank and so on can meet the various demands of the enterprises.

"One industry dominating, multi-park interacting"

With the information industry as the dominating one, to replicate the successful experience and brand of the Beijing base to the whole country and other countries and regions so as to extend infinitely the resources-"one industry domination, multi-park interacting"-the park development mode is very unique, and Bejing Yongfeng International Park Co., Ltd.(BIIP for short) is proficient at it.

On September 18, 2002, BIIP and the management committee of Xiaoshan Economic and Technical Development Zone signed formally the letter of intent to develop Hangzhou International Information Park in joint hands, which drew the prelude of BIIP's "one industry domination, multi-park interacting".

Liu Qun explained that the development mode of "one industry domination, multi-park interacting" referred to use the information industry as the dominating one, the sister parks would be constructed in other cities with population over 5 million and GDP over 100 billion yuan on the basis of BIIIB, and "China Science and Industry Park" would be built in other countries that China had friendly relations. With multi-park interacting to develop in joint hands, BIIIB provides cross-regional comprehensive services for multi-national companies entering China, the industry transformation of the eastern developed regions as well as China's enterprises stepping into the world.

Liu Qun held that the operation mode of "one industry domination, multi-park interacting" aimed to bring the regional advantages of each place into full play, and the benefit could be created in the process of interacting so that the goal of joint development could be realized in the end.

At present, from the eastern region including Qingdao, Wuxi, Haikou, Hangzhou to Hefei, Wuhan, Chongqing, Chengdu, and further to Xi'an in the middle west region as well as the Yellow River Ecological Industry Park totaling 10 parks signed cooperation agreement with BIIP.

At the same time, in other overseas cities such as Koszalin, Poland and Lahore, Pakistan and so on, "China Industry Park" will become real from dream, which can help a number of China's new high-tech enterprises with independent intellectual properties go out of China and into the world.


The "state-guest" brand for investment and financing service

Recently, D. Phone received US$40 million of investment from CHD Investment and other world known investment institutions, which is a typical investment and financing case conducted by BIIIB.

By means of the rich high-end resources such as the foreign embassies and consulates in China, Fortune 500, international business associations, international investment fund, policy research institutions it had, BIIIB founded State-Guest Entrepreneurs' Club and State-Guest Financiers' Club. Depending on the advanced "investment and financing platform", the base can promote the connection of industry capital with financial capital, and lay solid resource foundation and the scale sales and promotion channel of the park.

Liu Qun told the report: "The practice proved that the successful cooperation with the international resources such as Fortune 500 and so on formed our competitive advantages: others can only provide products or service for customers, while we can create the opportunity to cooperate with Fortune 500 for customers on the basis of meeting the above demands. This is our core competitive capacity."

At present, the club has assisted China's enterprises to receive over US$40 million of international financing, and the on-going financing programs amounting to nearly US$600 million. Meanwhile, it has also assisted most of the in-park enterprises to receive several million yuan of discount government loan, thus, promoting the development of the enterprises.