From now on, talented netizens who start up key software enterprises in Jinan will receive public funding from Jinan’s local government, in some cases amounting to as much as 3 million yuan.

The development of software in Jinan is also bolstered by the recently endorsed policy of building a nation-class software center in Jinan. The Jinan government says the city will step up spending on software industry year by year, starting in 2010.

The nation-class software center, once approved, will receive up to one million yuan while the province-class software base will receive about 300,000 yuan.

Support will also be given to key software enterprises and products. Enterprises whose annual revenue exceeds one billion yuan will receive a fund award of one million yuan for that year, while those exceeding 500 million yuan will get 500,000 yuan, and those exceeding 100 million will get 100,000 yuan. Enterprises whose crew members exceed 10 thousand people will also be supported with one million yuan.

Those who are listed among China’s Top 100 Software Entrepeneurs will get an award of 200,000 yuan.

The software industry in Jinan enjoyed a year of growth in 2009, despite the global financial downturn. The city’s software industry registered a gross revenue of 43.5 billion yuan last year, a year-on-year growth of 24.3 percent.

Over $110 million worth of software was sold overseas, registering a 25 percent increase over 2008.

Jinan’s current target for the near future of its software and information sector is to earn 100 billion yuan in annual revenue by 2012.

By Zhao Ruixue (China Daily Shandong Bureau)

Editor: Li Jing