The United States is the most developed country in science and technology in the world, and it is also the earliest and most perfect area for the establishment of high-tech parks. Based on the field investigation of some parks in the United States, this paper mainly introduces the investment environment in New York State and the pioneering work of the combination of urban construction and parks in Battery Park area, the investment environment and incubators in New Jersey, the development history of North Carolina and Research Triangle Park, as well as the investment environment in California and the support of Silicon Valley banks for innovation And relevant institutions. The four states have very close economic and trade relations with China and have signed two-way memoranda of understanding (MOU) with the Bureau of investment promotion affairs of the Ministry of Commerce.
1、 New York state investment environment and Battery Park City Park
（1） New York State Investment Environment
New York is located in the northeast of the United States, adjacent to New England, with an area of 141000 square kilometers and a population of about 19.3 million, second only to California and Texas. Among them, the urban population is 17.6 million, accounting for 92% of the prefecture. New York City is the world's leading international financial and business center.
New York is one of the states with the most developed infrastructure in the United States. Kennedy International Airport, laguardi airport and Newark International Airport constitute the three major airports in New York City and its surrounding areas, which can fly to more than 400 cities in the world. Among them, the famous Kennedy Airport undertakes 50% of the national import and export cargo air transport business and 35% of the international passenger transport business. New York State has a very developed highway, railway and water transportation system. Most of the rivers in the state lead to the Atlantic Ocean. The port is large in scale and well-equipped, and it will not freeze all the year round.
New York state is technologically advanced, with 82 technology incubators, including more than 600 enterprises and employing more than 4000 employees. Since 2003, the number of technology incubators in New York State has increased by 25%. Each district in New York State has at least one incubator, and New York City has 14. There are 13 advanced technology centers and research centers in New York state. These centers focus on computer science, nanotechnology and microelectronics, electronic devices and information technology, life science, optoelectronics and image and sensor, environment and energy system, material science and material processing, etc.
There are 13 industrial clusters in New York State, including computer hardware and electronics, industrial machines and systems, transportation equipment, biomedicine, material processing, optics and imaging, software, food processing, communication and media, finance and insurance services, etc.
Although the proportion of manufacturing industry in New York State's economy is decreasing, it still creates nearly 1 million jobs, with an annual output value of 150 billion US dollars. New York State has a strong force in clothing, printing, publishing, instruments and related industries, leading the country. In addition, New York state is also rich in agricultural and forestry resources, with 40000 farms, accounting for about 25% of the state's land area, with an annual output value of about $3 billion. Dairy products, apples, grapes and sour strawberries are abundant, and food processing industry is also quite developed.
（2） Battery Park City: a model of the combination of urban reconstruction and park planning
Project Name: Battery Park City
Project nature: mixed use function
Near the surface: Hudson River
Project scale: 37 hectares
Cost: About US $4 billion has been built
Start time: 1980
Project organization: Battery Park Development Company
Source: Battery Park City Authority, New York; Cooper Robertson & partners
Battery Park City is the most famous park in New York City. It is formed by 37 hectares of reclaimed land in the west of lower Manhattan. In the 1960s, in the process of excavating the foundation of the World Trade Center building in New York, according to the plan, the excavated soil was continuously filled into the nearby Hudson River to form the battery park area. Now, in the United States, such a large-scale excavation project is rare. The overall planning of Battery Park area skillfully combines the new area with the old area as a whole, consciously reflects various needs in the planning, and at the same time, reflects the style of the original city on the new land with modern methods, which is a model of the combination of urban reconstruction and park planning.
The Fort Park District Urban Administration of New York is responsible for the planning and project development of the whole land use. It was established in 1968 and commissioned Harrison and abelmowitz architects to carry out the master plan of the new land use. Due to the influence of the traditional European cities, the layout of the master plan was too rigorous and symmetrical, lacking the use of waterfront. Among them, Gateway Plaza, which was built in the mid-1970s and completed in 1982, was designed and built in accordance with the requirements of this plan. After the completion of a group of dark gray high-rise apartment buildings, people feel very depressed, does not reflect the new urban style of New York.
In the master plan of the main street between New York Central Business District and Hudson River, the nature of Battery Park area is mainly public green space and high-rise apartments, of which 42% are residential land, with 14000 residential units suitable for different income; 30% are public green space and square; 19% are street land; 9% are commercial and office land.
After the U.S. financial crisis in the mid-1970s and the stagnation of the development of Battery Park area, the city administration of Battery Park area invited architects Alexander Cooper and Stan Exeter to make a new round of master plan for Battery Park area in 1979. The plan was officially approved in 1980 and was developed by a semi official Battery Park Development Company. Subsequently, the new project of Battery Park area was basically designed and developed according to this master plan, and gradually formed the whole built-up area from the 1980s. This complex includes high-rise residential buildings, office buildings, commercial facilities, parks, Riverside promenades and public sculptures.
The master plan emphasizes the integration with lower Manhattan, and the layout is very simple: the north and south ends of the land are residential areas, and the middle is the financial and business district. Connecting these land uses is a magnificent riverside square 21 meters wide along the Hudson River. It is planned to extend all the streets of lower Manhattan in the west to the new development area, to the riverside, and the waterfront of Battery Park area will become the square of the whole city. As described in the planning text, "the premise of the master plan of Battery Park area in New York City is that the public space in the new waterfront area of the city is not only a park for entertainment, but also a continuation of urban work and living activities. "
With a bird's-eye view of the Southern District of Manhattan, Battery Park is nearby, and Battery Park Development Zone is on the left. The planning includes urban design outline, with detailed urban design guidelines for major landscape points and public spaces. The content of urban design guidelines includes the control of the volume, scale and building materials of each building. How to make buildings of different design styles and scales form an organic whole by different units, and how to coordinate this organic whole with the long history of lower Manhattan Area, are the focus of urban design guidelines of Battery Park area. The special feature of the urban design guidelines of Battery Park area is that it not only controls the location and scale of buildings, but also puts forward requirements on how to interpret the existing architectural style of New York with the details and forms of buildings.
Panoramic view of Manhattan in 1910 New York was the first city in the United States to formulate zoning regulations, and its planning and urban management were in the leading position in the United States. The success of the development of Battery Park lies in that the overall planning of the new area continues the original urban structure and the existing urban community, creates new urban public space with the orderly extension and connection of streets, and integrates the new area with the old area. Another successful experience is that the development company of Battery Park, which is responsible for the development of the new area, is in the process of development, The development has been carried out in accordance with the requirements of the master plan, although there are some local adjustments in the implementation process.
After the completion of Rockefeller Center, the model of modern urban design, Paul Goldberg, an architectural critic, thinks that Battery Park is the best built-up area in New York. He says that "not only its parks and architectural design are very wonderful, but this huge complex conveys a message to us, that is, the importance of public space. New York or elsewhere, there is no such perfect combination of parks, waterfront promenades, streets and public art as this 37 hectare complex, apart from its good architectural form. "
2、 New Jersey investment environment and business incubation center operation
（1） New Jersey investment environment
New Jersey covers an area of 20300 square kilometers and has strong economic strength. More than 1000 overseas companies have invested in it (270 companies have set up headquarters in North America), including more than 20 of the world's top 500 enterprises. New Jersey has a superior geographical location, and the northeast is the third industrial belt in the United States. Within the 24-hour driving range, it can cover the consumer group of 100 million people, with a market scale of 2 trillion US dollars. New Jersey is close to the port, with the largest storage area and density in the United States; the railways and highways are developed, the railways are the most intensive, and the infrastructure, transportation and logistics are developed; the education level is high, the scientific research ability is strong, and there are more than 60 Colleges and universities including Princeton University; the community population is very diversified (one out of every five people is born overseas), the living environment is good, and the quality of life is high The quantity is high.
According to the information provided by the Department of Commerce of New Jersey, there are five important industries that drive economic growth in New Jersey. Science and technology, especially the IT industry, is the driving force of economic development. IT talents rank second in the United States, and broadband communications rank first in the United States. NEW Jersey is the state with the fastest development of solar energy, and the first in photoelectric quantity in the United States. New Jersey is known as "American medicine box", and is the world's largest 20 pharmaceutical enterprises 17 of them are headquartered in New Jersey and have more than 300 biotech companies in total; they have developed warehousing and logistics, with 620 million tons of goods flowing through the state every year and storage space of more than 585 million square feet; New Jersey has a strong manufacturing industry, with more than 9300 manufacturing companies producing 38.8 billion US dollars of products, 90% of which are exported; as it is close to Manhattan, New Jersey is also a financial service center and has a long history The state's optical fiber network and multiple data centers are responsible for handling high-frequency transactions, with a business volume of US $39.4 billion, accounting for 8.3% of the state's GDP.
In order to provide better service, business action center has been set up in New Jersey to provide one-stop service for enterprises planning to invest in New Jersey. There are five free trade zones (FTZ) in New Jersey, whose functions are similar to those in China. Due to the different import tax rates of various products, enterprises that intend to import parts for export after assembly can choose to set up in FTZ to obtain corresponding tax relief. The policy of FTZ is flexible. If the existing FTZ can't meet the demand, the company building can be identified as FTZ through negotiation with government departments. New Jersey has some original preferential policies. For example, investors can be granted a tax exemption equal to the investment amount, which can be transferred to a third party.
In recent years, New Jersey has introduced preferential policies for high-tech companies, such as Edison program. In the initial stage of high-tech enterprises, most of them have not yet made a big profit, and the various tax reduction and exemption policies given by the government can not effectively provide preferential treatment for enterprises. However, if they participate in the Edison program, the tax reduction and exemption given by the government can be sold to a third party, for example, the third party can buy 1 yuan tax at 8.50 Jiao.
（2） New Jersey Business Incubation Center
New Jersey has 14 incubation centers from south to north, focusing on high-tech, life science, green environmental protection, food industry and other industries. In order to concentrate the power of incubators and achieve better development, 14 incubators have formed business incubation network (bin).
The incubation center provides various types of offices, laboratories and public facilities for start-up enterprises, and provides various soft services for incubating enterprises, such as assisting enterprises to draw up and modify development plans, helping enterprises to establish contact with angel funds, venture capital, lenders, etc., holding regular training and seminars to explain the financial, market development, and other problems encountered by small enterprises in the process of development Brand building and other common problems.
Of the 14 incubation centers, only CCIT (commercialization Center for innovative technologies) is directly managed by the government, while other incubation centers are managed by universities, County Colleges or other non-profit units that promote economic development. The preparation of the incubation center depends on the government, enterprises and universities. In order to support the development, the center needs to seek financial support through different channels, such as federal and state governments, universities and other institutions. Every year, each incubation center will summarize the operation, including the number of enterprises in incubation, the financial support from the third party (government grants, venture capital, etc.) that the incubation enterprises have applied for, the employment opportunities created by the incubation center, the number of enterprises graduated from the incubator, etc.
According to the statistical data on the operation of the incubator center in New Jersey in 2010, the incubator center has fostered more than 500 enterprises, created 1800 jobs, earned US $155 million in business income of the incubator enterprises, and won US $91 million in various funds. 54 companies have successfully hatched and graduated, of which 85-90% choose to continue to develop in New Jersey. Generally speaking, if a company can achieve balance of payments, establish a better management team and find the right sales market, it will basically have the conditions for graduation. The Incubation Center encourages enterprises to graduate within four years, but the incubation time for high-tech industries may be longer than four years. For such enterprises, the incubation center will not force them to leave.
Each incubation center has its own entry criteria. For example, it must be a profit-making enterprise (at least a LLC), it must be in the first three years of the enterprise's establishment, and 80% of the entry enterprises need to be innovative technology enterprises. Generally speaking, the incubation center collects monthly rent from the settled enterprises. Enterprises can enter the park virtually and charge the lowest price. If they need to use the laboratory provided by the park, the price is more expensive (for example, US $500-2000). Generally speaking, incubation enterprises can apply for government grants, but after successful incubation, the government will no longer establish parks to continue to support the development of enterprises.
3、 Investment environment, parks and research institutions in North Carolina
（1） Investment advantages and policies of North Carolina
North Carolina is located along the Atlantic coast in the southeast of the United States, with an area of 136600 square kilometers and a population of about 9.7 million. It is the tenth largest state in the United States, with a labor population of 4.5 million. The productivity of manufacturing employees ranks first in the United States, and the proportion of employees joining trade unions is the lowest in the southeast states. Rich in educational resources, the state has 98 institutions of higher learning, including the famous Duke University and the University of North Carolina. The average tuition fee of public universities is about 85% of that of New York, 58% of that of Virginia and 53% of that of Massachusetts. It is the first free employee training program in the United States, implemented through 58 community colleges.
According to the data from the Department of Commerce of North Carolina, North Carolina has convenient transportation and large market coverage. It has the second densest highway network in the United States, with a radius of about 1100 kilometers, covering 170 million consumers in the United States and Canada. With 158000 km of expressways and 5000 km of railways, it has two modern deep-water ports and three international airports, with direct international flights to more than 100 major cities in the world. Communications are developed, and telecommunications and high-speed broadband networks cover all urban and rural areas. The power system is stable, there has never been a large series power interruption event, and the operation history is excellent. The cost of living is below the national average, and the cost of water, electricity and gas is low. The cost of living index is about 71% of Massachusetts, 58% of California and 45% of New York; the construction cost index is about 66% of Massachusetts, 62% of California and 58% of New York. The state government insists on continuous investment in education, infrastructure and science and technology development, the budget is well balanced, and the bond credit rating remains AAA.
The North Carolina government has adopted specific and pragmatic incentive policies, mainly including: the implementation of statutory tax deduction for job creation, capital investment, R & D investment and port use; the establishment of work development investment incentive fund and North Carolina fund; the reduction of production and economic efficiency through sales tax reduction, development of infrastructure incentive fund, tax-free financing, the establishment of foreign trade free zone and other measures Operating costs.
（2） North Carolina Research Triangle Research Park (RTP)
1. RTP overview
The Research Triangle Park, or RTP for short, is translated into "Research Triangle Park" or "Research Triangle Park" in Chinese. The park is located at the junction of Raleigh, Duran and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It is surrounded by the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University and Duke University. Its shape is similar to a triangle. From the park to any of the above cities, any university and the local airport, the driving distance is no more than half an hour. The park is very close to Wilmington and Norfolk harbor on the east coast, and there are many railways and expressways passing through or passing by. There are lakes in the northeast and southwest of the research park, with beautiful natural scenery.
RTP Park, founded in 1959, is the first industrial park in the United States. Since its establishment, it has gradually developed into a high-tech park dominated by microelectronics and bioengineering. Leading industries involve biotechnology, biopharmaceuticals, information technology, materials science, microelectronics and other fields. It has Microelectronics Research Center, Biotechnology Center and other institutions, as well as a large number of scientific research institutions of famous companies, such as general electric, DuPont, IBM, Cisco, Ericsson and other high-tech research enterprises. The North American headquarters of China's Lenovo Group is also located here. RTP has tens of thousands of scientists and engineers, three Nobel Prize winners, and nearly 100 academicians of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medical Sciences, and the National Academy of Engineering Sciences. At present, 24% of the most important scientific research projects in the United States are successfully carried out in Triangle Park. Every year, 21% of the scientific research papers published in the world's most important academic journals are written by Triangle Park scientists. The technology patents obtained by Triangle Park scientists each year account for about 29% of the United States, which contributes a lot to the leading position of American science and technology in the world.
The output value of RTP Park ranks second in science and Technology Parks in the United States, second only to Silicon Valley. It is an industrial cluster formed by the government of North Carolina. As a university science park with the longest history, the largest scale and the largest number of innovation and R & D institutions at home and abroad in the United States, triangular research park is a useful reference for the construction of development zones in China.
2. The development of RTP
Before the establishment of the park, the pillar industries of North Carolina were agriculture related tobacco industry, textile industry and furniture industry. However, in the early 1950s, these three industries were facing fierce competition and sharp decline, and gradually declined. The local unemployment rate continued to rise, and the residents' income declined year after year. Because the development of emerging industries can increase employment and reduce the unemployment rate, local governments are very enthusiastic about the support of high-tech industrialization.
In this context, in 1956, the state government took the lead in setting up the Research Triangle Park committee to study and attract a large number of new industries and enterprises to enter, so as to promote North Carolina to move from traditional agriculture to modern industry dominated by science and technology.
At the same time, in order to realize the balanced development of domestic economy, the federal government of the United States began to pay attention to the development of the southern region, and the economic center of gravity shifted to the southern "sunshine zone". After the energy crisis broke out in the 1970s, many large companies and heavy industrial enterprises in the North moved to the south one after another, and the status of the South was further consolidated. The superior geographical location and favorable climate of North Carolina has become the first choice for southerners, which has injected vigor and vitality into the development of North Carolina and Triangle Park.
Gradually seek a clear leading industry.
When the Research Triangle Park was listed in 1959, the Committee focused on chemistry and fiber. After the mid-1960s, the electronic industry has become the representative of high-tech. After IBM settled in 1965, the park entered a stage of rapid growth. In the 1980s, the state government further defined microelectronics and bioengineering as the most promising technology fields, and determined the "industrial cluster" development strategy focusing on these core industries. In the 1990s, with the vigorous rise of network engineering and biotechnology, Triangle Park immediately caught up with the trend of the times.
The financial industry has developed intensively.
The "9.11" incident has severely damaged many international financial institutions. In order to spread the risk and improve the ability to deal with the risk, many financial institutions in New York have set their eyes on the research triangle which has no time difference with New York. On the other hand, the park has a large number of international enterprises with unique talent advantages, which meets the demand of financial institutions for compound high-end talents. As a result, financial enterprises such as Fidelity Investment and Credit Suisse have entered one after another.
The entry of financial institutions not only provides opportunities for their own development, but also brings benefits to the Research Triangle Park, increases employment opportunities and the transfer of land use rights, and promotes the prosperity and development of the local economy. At the same time, high-tech enterprises around the park are also beneficiaries. The financial services of IBM, Cisco, Microsoft and many other high-tech enterprises in the park have been improved due to the entry of financial institutions.
After more than 50 years of construction, the Triangle Park has developed about 86% of the planning area. As of 2007, the park has employed 39000 employees with a total investment of US $28 billion. The park has become an important R & D and production base for biotechnology, information industry and pharmaceutical industry in the United States. There are 157 enterprises and institutions in the park, including 106 R & D institutions, such as microelectronics research center, Biotechnology Center, environmental protection research institute and environmental health research institute.
3. Management mode and characteristics of RTP
RTP mainly takes enterprises, universities and other non-governmental forces as the main body to participate in the development, investment and construction of the park. Government departments strengthen the innovation ability and competitiveness of RTP by formulating policies and guiding investment. The government of North Carolina has invested a lot in the universities, infrastructure, incubators and non-profit organizations around the park, established a large number of learning and living facilities, shopping malls, service institutions, sports and entertainment places, schools and hospitals. Local governments have set up institutions with clear division of labor, actively and effectively participate in the coordination of all parties, and publicize and promote RTP in an all-round way.
RTP Biotechnology Center is a good embodiment of this management mode.
North Carolina Biotechnology Center (NCBC) is the first Biotechnology Center in the United States. It was founded by the state government in 1981. Its purpose is to promote the long-term economic development of the state by supporting biotechnology research, commercialization and public awareness. The current annual capital is $6.5 million, 90% of which comes from the state government, with 12000 square feet of office space and 38 employees.
In 1984, the center became a private, not-for-profit consortium to provide maximum flexibility to promote state wide biotechnology development. Although the center itself is not engaged in scientific research, it provides funds every year to support academic research, build research base and human resources, and promote the development of new industries. The center has created unique programs in public education, Commercial Biotechnology Information, and connecting more than 1100 scientists and 100 biotechnology companies across the state. It also acts as a liaison between academia, state governments, small businesses, large corporations, and the federal government. In order to fully support every link from research to product development and promote the development of the most cohesive and mature biotechnology group in the United States, the center has four divisions to promote the development of biotechnology. The Ministry of economic development assists in technology transfer, establishes biotechnology enterprises, and funds innovative research of new companies. The Department of biotechnology information is responsible for the establishment of international biotechnology companies and research databases, as well as providing data and analysis for Industry and government departments.
4. Development characteristics of RTP
One is the close cooperation between the University and the local government. The core assets of RTP are three universities (North Carolina University, North Carolina State University and Duke University). There are more than 110000 college students in the surrounding areas, which provide a strong talent reserve for the innovation of enterprises in RTP cluster and form a social and cultural atmosphere conducive to innovation and development. More than 80% of the companies in the park choose their employees from the graduates of the surrounding universities, and the University also takes promoting regional economic development as one of its important missions.
Second, perfect intermediary service system. The park has established an intermediary service system with networking organization, professional service and market-oriented operation to help enterprises allocate elements and resources and reduce operating costs. Most of the service organizations have their own laboratories, which create new products and equipment through innovative combination of existing software and hardware. RTP also has a joint committee of owners and tenants to coordinate the office environment of the park and the relationship between owners and tenants.
Third, a good environment for innovation and development. The government of North Carolina has spent a lot of money to establish the North Carolina Microelectronics Research Center and North Carolina biology research center in RTP to attract high-tech enterprises in the two fields. The government provides loan guarantee and other financial services for small enterprises, long-term low interest loans for enterprises entering the park, and a good living environment for high-tech talents.
Fourth, effective innovation operation mechanism. RTP establishes a sharing mechanism of various specialized service institutions and facilities to serve enterprises, and establishes an innovative public service platform to help new enterprises obtain market opportunities and investment. RTP combines the development of new technology products with scientific research in Colleges and universities. According to the actual needs of the market, universities carry out scientific research, and the scientific research achievements are quickly transferred to special R & D institutions for development. The new technologies developed are quickly transplanted to enterprises and transformed into high-tech products.
The fifth is the organic network of science and technology park. In addition to RTP, North Carolina has many research parks and innovation centers for a variety of companies and institutions to choose from. It has formed an extensive network of science and technology parks with RTP as the main body, providing office space and development services for various high-tech companies. Different science and technology parks should strengthen cooperation, share information and services, and develop together.
5. Experience of RTP
Government support is crucial.
Different from Silicon Valley, which mainly depends on the development of market forces, the research of Triangle Park has a great background of government support. Local governments have invested a lot in universities, infrastructure, incubators and non-profit organizations near the park. The North Carolina government has successively set up scientific research institutions such as the North Carolina science and technology research center, the North Carolina Electronics Center, and the Biotechnology Center, as well as some scientific research institutions jointly set up by the federal government and the North Carolina government and universities, to provide enormous and creative services to science and technology related manufacturers in the park.
Establish a non-profit foundation to coordinate the development of the park.
There are a large number of non-profit organizations active in the Research Triangle Park, which has become an indispensable bridge between profit-making organizations, science and technology groups and the government. The Research Triangle Foundation, a non-profit organization, is composed of 11 representatives from the government, schools and enterprises. It is responsible for managing and guiding the construction and planning of the Research Triangle Park, and has no right to intervene in the internal affairs of the units in the park. An important role of the fund is to act as an agent for the government to sell the land in the hands of the government to potential users to build new factories. Because of the foundation's non-profit, its first consideration is whether the project is beneficial to the overall industrial layout of the park in the long run, whether it can avoid damaging the environment, and its stability, predictability and transparency of operation procedures are highly recognized by investors.
Educational R & D and the park develop together.
North Carolina University, North Carolina State University and Duke University are among the best research universities in the United States. Triangle Park attaches great importance to the role of the three universities in economic development. The cooperation among universities, companies and government laboratories has made the Triangle Park a leader in technology in the eastern United States. According to the actual needs of the market, universities carry out scientific research, and the scientific research achievements are quickly transferred to special R & D institutions for development. The new technologies developed are quickly transplanted to enterprises and transformed into high-tech products. This combination not only produces fast results and short development cycle, but also is a high-tech product with very good economic benefits.
Pay attention to the protection and construction of nature and living environment.
Triangle Park has a beautiful and harmonious natural environment and unique geographical and climatic conditions, coupled with people's unremitting efforts over the years, Triangle Park has been built into a modern scientific garden, which has become one of the important conditions for the park to attract and retain scientific research talents.
North Carolina has built a large number of learning, living, education and entertainment facilities for the Triangle Park. There are all kinds of shopping malls, service institutions, gymnasiums, entertainment places, kindergartens, schools and hospitals, and all kinds of buildings with unique shapes and meaningful meanings are scattered. In 2003, the triangle research park was named the best living and working area in the United States by employment review.
4、 California investment environment and Silicon Valley
（1） California investment environment
California is located in the southwest of the United States, with an area of 411000 square kilometers. It is the third largest state in the United States, second only to Alaska and Texas, with a population of 36.65 million, the largest in the United States. White people are the largest group, but they no longer account for the majority. Hispanics account for about one third of the population, followed by Asians, Africans and Indians, with about one million Chinese Americans. The main cities are: Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States; San Francisco, an important seaport city in the west, financial, trade and cultural center; San Diego, the main naval base on the west coast; San Jose, the southeast suburb of Santa Clara Valley known as "Silicon Valley".
High tech industry is one of the major industries in California. Among the 100 fastest-growing high-tech companies in the United States, 39 are in California. Silicon Valley alone accounts for one third of the exports of high-tech products in the United States. Nearly half of the biotechnology jobs in the United States are in California, nearly 30% of the bioengineering companies in the United States are headquartered in California, and the output of medical devices and measurement and control instruments accounts for 20% of the United States. California is also the largest agricultural state in the United States, producing 250 kinds of agricultural products with an annual output value of about 26 billion US dollars. Venture capital in California Silicon Valley has grown rapidly in recent years. In addition, international trade and tourism are also major industries in California.
The incentive measures of California government include: Investment deduction, R & D deduction, manufacturing property tax rebate, investment loss write off, enterprise zone treatment, child care facilities deduction, property tax deduction, etc. The measures taken by the state government to encourage investment include: helping to obtain business license, providing tax-free Industrial Development Fund, giving financial subsidies to small enterprises, export financial assistance and employment training assistance. California has 10 foreign trade zones (FTZ).
（2） The origin and development of Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is located in California, near the Pacific Ocean. It is a flat valley more than 80 kilometers long, covering an area of about 3880 square kilometers, with a population of more than 2 million. The development of Silicon Valley can be divided into two stages
The first stage: the establishment and development stage (from the early 1950s to the middle and late 1970s), marked by the R & D and production of national defense products and integrated circuits. After World War II, in order to strengthen basic research, Stanford University implemented three measures: first, it established Stanford Research Park to encourage teachers to set up enterprises or take part-time jobs in enterprises; second, it held honor cooperation projects to open classes to enterprises; third, it established Stanford Industrial Park to attract a large number of companies with core competitiveness and many excellent talents to show their talents. Under the incentive of these measures, many high-tech enterprises have been established one after another, and new enterprises have been born through fission. For example, eight young entrepreneurs of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory left the laboratory and founded Fairchild company. Since then, Fairchild company has split and separated, resulting in anaker, Intel and other companies.
The second stage: to develop into the world's high-tech, especially information technology industry center (since the mid and late 1970s), with the development, production and use of personal computers and the Internet as the main symbol. From the late 1970s to the mid-1980s, Silicon Valley recovered from the economic recession of semiconductor memory and entered the era of network economy. Cisco, Netscape, Yahoo and other Silicon Valley computer network hardware and software production companies have led the development trend of the world's high-tech industry, making silicon valley quickly become the world's high-tech and information technology industry center, and cultivating a number of world-class technology and business giants such as Bill Gates.
（3） Silicon Valley model and its characteristics
1. Venture capital provides strong financial support for the establishment of high-tech enterprises. Venture capitalists in Silicon Valley have a special preference for high-tech products. As long as there are high-tech product projects with good market potential in Silicon Valley, venture capitalists will be willing to invest. The smooth exit channel of venture capital -- "second board market", that is, the US Nasdaq market, ensures the free access of venture capital. According to statistics, nearly half of the more than 600 venture capital companies in the United States are in Silicon Valley. IBM and apple in the early Silicon Valley, and Intel, Yahoo, Netscape in the late Silicon Valley all grew up by venture capital.
2. Research universities provide technological support and talent base for the development of Silicon Valley entrepreneurship. Silicon Valley always adheres to the interdependence, organic combination and efficient cooperation among universities, scientific research institutions and enterprises, in which Stanford University plays a core role. Stanford University has set up many policies and systems to encourage researchers to innovate, which greatly improves the enthusiasm and creativity of researchers and students in technology development and entrepreneurship. In addition, silicon valley also has the University of Santa Clara, the University of San Jose and nine colleges, as well as 33 technical schools and more than 100 private professional schools. These schools have strong strength and talents, which provide strong technical support and talent foundation for the development of Silicon Valley.
3. The unique regional culture provides a good human environment for the rise of Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley culture mainly includes the following characteristics: first, it forms the cultural spirit of encouraging innovation and risk-taking and tolerating failure, including flexible mechanism and risk-taking integrity values. The second is to form an open learning social atmosphere of equal competition. Silicon Valley people have an open spirit of fair competition. They exchange, learn and share knowledge in the competition. Third, the formation of team spirit of sincere cooperation and tolerance of job hopping have promoted the technology dissemination and entrepreneurial development of Silicon Valley.
4. Government support provides the source of capital injection and institutional conditions for the take-off of Silicon Valley. First, the government's capital injection supported the early development of Silicon Valley. "World War II" and the great development of military industry during the cold war greatly promoted the development of electronic industries such as semiconductors and integrated circuits. A large part of the government's defense investment flows into Silicon Valley's high-tech enterprises through orders. Second, the government indirectly creates favorable conditions for the development of high-tech industry in Silicon Valley through various innovative policies and improving various legal systems.
（4） The positive role of Silicon Valley banks in American innovation
Innovation is the main driving force of the U.S. economy. 21% of U.S. GDP is created by venture capital backed companies, with 12.1 million jobs, accounting for 11% of U.S. private sector employment. In the process of innovation, the support of banks is very important, and Silicon Valley banks play a very important role.
Silicon Valley Bank is a "special" commercial bank in the United States. Although it has financial services such as deposit and loan business of commercial banks, its clients are all VC (venture capital) companies. VC companies are not only the deposit source of Silicon Valley Bank, but also the loan customers of the bank.
In 1983, several banking institutions funded the establishment of Silicon Valley Bank. At that time, the registered assets were only US $5 million. At this time, the high-tech industry in Silicon Valley is surging. For these small companies, it is difficult for them to find capital in the market, because they are different from traditional companies. They have no fixed assets. It can be said that Silicon Valley banks are produced in response to market demand. At that time, there were as many as 350 banks in Silicon Valley, but most of these big banks focused their services on large companies, but they had no time to care about small and medium-sized companies. Silicon Valley banks set their target markets on those small and medium-sized enterprises that are newly established, developing rapidly and are considered too risky by other banks to provide services.
The business strategy of the Silicon Valley Bank brought good news to those Silicon Valley technology companies who were still in the process of hard work, lack of funds and poor loans at that time, and they also got rich returns. Silicon Valley Bank has made venture capital since the initial stage of the enterprise, and has grown up with the enterprise. Many enterprises are still customers of Silicon Valley Bank after they grow up. For example, Cisco has grown up with Silicon Valley Bank since it started with two people. In 1990, Silicon Valley banks listed on NASDAQ. In 2011, Silicon Valley banks had $23 billion in assets, $8 billion in loans and $35 billion in client funds, according to Forbes. The annual growth rate of business is more than 20%. Compared with the 2% growth rate of other banks, the banking business in Silicon Valley is growing at a super high speed.
According to the introduction of Senior Account Manager of Silicon Valley Bank, the customer status of Silicon Valley Bank can be divided into three forms: the first is entrepreneurial companies, that is, garage companies. About 50% of these companies are Silicon Valley customers; the second is growth companies, that is, companies have certain income, and Silicon Valley's share in these companies is 10-12%; the third is international companies, that is, the company's business continues to grow, For companies like Cisco, most commercial banks are doing the same business, so the market share of Silicon Valley banks is less than 10%.
Each enterprise has different needs for financial institutions at different stages. Silicon Valley banks customize different services according to different needs of enterprises. In the initial stage, it mainly includes angel fund, online banking, business consulting, network system, evaluation, equity compensation management, standard inspection procedure and risk fund; in the growth stage, it mainly includes loan, fund management, investment, international service, equity compensation management, standard inspection procedure and network system; after becoming a large company, it mainly includes fund management Management, international service, investment, loan, equity compensation management, evaluation and standard inspection procedures, etc. For companies at different stages, Silicon Valley banking services are provided with targeted services by different teams.
To be sure, the interest rate of Silicon Valley banks is generally higher than that of other commercial banks. The reason is very simple. This is an area with relatively high risk. Naturally, the loan interest rate should be high. For those start-ups who have no way to make loans, obviously they will not care about the loan interest rate of one and a half points. And the cost of capital source of Silicon Valley banks is the lowest. Many entrepreneurs will open an account in Silicon Valley Bank immediately after they get an investment from venture investors, and set up a set of financial system with the help of the bank. These customers are not sensitive to the interest rate of deposits, and about 30% of the deposits are current deposit accounts without interest payment. Silicon Valley Bank is to seize the customers' insensitivity to the bank interest rate, so as to obtain good profits. Of course, the fully market-oriented operation mechanism of commercial banks also makes Silicon Valley banks have many competitors, so that the loan interest rate is maintained at a relatively reasonable level.
In determining whether a start-up is worthy of providing credit services, Silicon Valley banks will conduct thorough investigation through various channels. After the loan, the bank will match the loan with the company's cash flow, and check the company's capital utilization every month. In order to reduce the risk, Silicon Valley Bank stipulates that the clients they serve must be companies with venture capital support. In addition, the Bank of Silicon Valley will sign an agreement with its customers to require the technology patent as collateral. According to the agreement, if the company can not repay the money, the technology patent of the company will be owned by the bank; if the company is unsustainable, after the technology patent is sold, the proceeds will first be returned to the Bank of Silicon Valley's loan, and then to the venture capital company. This agreement forces venture capital firms to cooperate with Silicon Valley banks.
Compared with ordinary commercial banks, Silicon Valley banks do a lot of business, such as helping to organize enterprises to connect services; giving industry policy influence, such as on the issue of medical device tax increase under discussion, Silicon Valley banks organize enterprise representative teams to lobby. Through this dialogue, the U.S. government will give more support to innovative enterprises; acquiring small start-ups in large companies In terms of technology acquisition, Silicon Valley Bank has natural advantages; Silicon Valley Bank cooperates with Stanford, Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of technology and many other universities; in the process of growth, the company needs professional teams to manage, and Silicon Valley Bank introduces professional teams to the company. In addition, close cooperation with venture capital institutions has always been one of the most important strategies of Silicon Valley banks. Silicon Valley Bank provides direct banking services for venture capital institutions and the enterprises it invests in at the same time. It usually locates its branches near venture capital institutions. Silicon Valley Bank is also a shareholder or partner of more than 200 venture capital funds. The above efforts make Silicon Valley Bank and venture capital jointly weave a relationship network, in which everyone can share information and carry out deeper cooperation. It can be said that Silicon Valley banks are not only commercial banking institutions, but also value providers in the innovation system.
Since 2004, Silicon Valley Bank has set up four offices in China, India, the UK and Israel. The process of internationalization has been accelerated, and good cooperative relations have been established with local partners. Its main business is located in innovative industries, and its main customers are concentrated in software and hardware, biotechnology and medicine, clean energy, venture capital and high-end fields.