According to an official from the Finance and Banking Bureau of the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone (ZAEZ), to promote the clustered development of venture capital enterprises in the zone, ZAEZ has made efforts in multiple aspects including policies, platforms, and services, and implemented a series of robust initiatives:
Firstly, ZAEZ has fostered venture capital momentum through a package of policy measures, encouraging institutions to increase risk investment through institutional innovation. In March 2025, ZAEZ issued the "Management Measures for Fault Tolerance, Due Diligence and Exemption from Liability for State-owned Investment Funds of Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone", taking the lead within Henan Province to break free from the constraints of a "success-only" mindset. The measures explicitly stipulate that reasonable failures in investing in small, early-stage, and hard-tech sectors would be tolerated and exempted from liability. This not only relieves state-owned capital of the "burden" associated with participating in high-risk sci-tech innovation investments but also sets a confidence benchmark for social capital to "dare and be willing to invest", guiding funds toward early-stage, front-end and hard-tech sectors. In August of the same year, ZAEZ introduced the "Supporting Measures for the Development of Private Equity Funds in the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone", which adopt a "positive-incentive" approach to deliver targeted support through a dual mechanism of "investment rewards + risk subsidies". For private equity funds investing in zone-based enterprises and projects that align with industrial development orientations, a maximum investment reward of 4 million yuan will be provided to directly enhance investment return expectations. For venture capital funds operating in compliance, an additional maximum risk subsidy of 3 million yuan will be offered to effectively mitigate early-stage investment risks.
Secondly, ZAEZ has launched the distinctive financial service brand IP, "Tech-Finance Exchange Salon". As of September 2025, eleven matchmaking events have been held around themes including biomedicine, artificial intelligence, cross-border trade and intellectual property. These events have cumulatively attracted over 100 financial institutions and more than 1,000 physical enterprises, jointly exploring new pathways and models for the integration of finance and industry. This initiative has effectively broadened financing channels for enterprises and accelerated deeper integration between industry and finance.
Thirdly, ZAEZ has enhanced the management and optimization of financial services. Fund registration consultations now have direct access to the provincial authorities, with fund manager registration handled jointly by the provincial and ZAEZ authorities, and fund product registration completed at the ZAEZ level, greatly shortening registration procedures and saving time. At the same time, ZAEZ has established a comprehensive financial service platform, where professional teams from state-owned platform companies provide one-stop, free services including document guidance, business registration, and office setup, offering a convenient and superior environment for investment institutions to enter the zone.
"To effectively reduce financing costs for entrepreneurs and prevent financial risks, ZAEZ has also issued the 'Measures for Financing Risk Compensation of Technology-based SMEs in Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone'", the official stated. He added that through the establishment of a technology credit risk compensation fund with a total scale of 100 million yuan, the Zone will provide reasonable risk compensation for principal losses incurred by financial institutions when granting loans to technology-based enterprises. This initiative aims to improve the financing environment for technological innovation in ZAEZ, build a regional highland for sci-tech finance innovation, and alleviate multiple constraints ranging from micro-enterprise innovation to macro-industrial development.
According to the official, the "Measures for Financing Risk Compensation of Technology-based SMEs in Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone" have three main features. First, a differentiated compensation mechanism has been established. For enterprises that already have sci-tech labels and are not first-time borrowers, 50% of the risk will be compensated. For enterprises on the sci-tech "whitelist" or sci-tech enterprises that are first-time borrowers, preferential policy support will be emphasized, with the risk compensation ratio increased to 60%, thereby guiding financial resources to converge toward the forefront of technological innovation and the nurturing of start-ups. Secondly, financing services for light-asset enterprises have been optimized. Considering the light-asset characteristics of ZAEZ's technology enterprises, the measures clarify loan types, terms, and interest rates for technology credit projects, and adopt a combination of "lower thresholds, stable terms, and controlled costs" to improve the accessibility and sustainability of financing for light-asset enterprises. Thirdly, risk prevention and control have been strengthened. The measures clearly define the scope of supported enterprises, warning and suspension thresholds, and the upper limit of credit balances for a single enterprise covered by risk compensation, establishing a multi-dimensional mechanism that includes boundary clarification, dynamic monitoring, and explicit limits to solidify the risk control framework. (Chinese Source: Henan Daily Translator: Zhang Yahan Proofreader: Hong Jianyuan)
