The government of the city Shenzhen, China, has taken the step of endorsing a dedicated blockchain investment fund, one that will aim to succour and support blockchain businesses in the region.
Following the lead of its compatriot Hangzhou, which has recently aided a similar endeavour, they have committed themselves to promoting such specialist start-ups in the region.
The news was announced at the China Electronic Commerce Association’s Sunday event, with those behind the venture stating that it would aim to inject 500 million yuan (about $78.6 million) into the industry in its initial phase.
40 percent, or about $32 million of the money, will come from a public-private partnership, that was launched at the end of March by Shenzhen’s municipal government. The remaining 60 percent will be supplied by the private sector.
The former, known as an ‘angel fund’, amounts to $800 million in total, to be invested in the city’s start-ups. This means that around 4 percent of the whole is being allocated to blockchain-specific projects, indicating a real desire to help evolve this technology in the region.
The fund’s operations will be overseen by two specially appointed investment firms, both state-owned, who will be supervised by the city government commission responsible for public assets. Liu Zhongou, commissioner of the Shenzhen government’s advisory commission, will act as an advisor.
With Shenzhen and Hangzhou now taking active steps to promote blockchain businesses within the borders of their respective cities, all that remains to be seen is which of their Chinese compatriots will be next to take the plunge.
As covered, blockchain adoption could generate $1 trillion in the shipping business. E-commerce giant Amazon has recently launched free Ethereum Hyperledger blockchain templates for its users.
