Shanghai launches innovation fund

Reuters

An investment fund backed by China's National Social Security Fund was launched in Shanghai, with a size of 5.1 billion yuan (HK$5.58 billion) for its first phase, Shanghai's financial regulatory authority said yesterday.

The fund, to be managed by investment firm IDG Capital, will focus on supporting innovation in Shanghai alongside the Yangtze River Delta region, the Shanghai authority said.

The fund will invest in strategic areas such as integrated circuits, biopharma and life sciences, artificial intelligence, new energy vehicles, high-end equipment and advanced materials, the authority said.

In other news, China's Zhongzhi Enterprise Group, a leading wealth manager, told investors it is heavily insolvent with up to 460 billion yuan in liabilities, threatening to reignite concerns that the country's property debt crisis is spilling over into the broader financial sector.

The firm, which has sizable exposure to China's real estate sector, apologized to its investors in a letter that said it had total liabilities of about 420 billion yuan to 460 billion yuan.

The liabilities compared to Zhongzhi's estimated total assets of about 200 billion yuan, according to the letter, which was issued on Wednesday and was seen by Reuters.