【科创之声】且看春雨润新苗

Core Insights - The approval of the second phase of the National SME Development Fund aims to attract more social capital to support the growth of early-stage SMEs, marking a significant expansion of a national-level mother fund [2][5] - SMEs are crucial for innovation, with 75.3% of effective invention patents in 2024 coming from independent R&D by SMEs, highlighting their role as a key source of innovation [3] - The current landscape shows over 600,000 technology and innovation-oriented SMEs and 14,000 specialized and innovative SMEs, with "little giant" enterprises contributing 13.7% of profits despite only representing 3.5% of the total number of industrial SMEs [3] Challenges and Opportunities - Social capital is often hesitant to invest in SMEs due to their high-risk nature, information asymmetry, and structural issues such as inadequate exit mechanisms and a shortage of professional investment talent [4] - To effectively support early-stage SMEs, the focus should be on early and small investments, targeting critical phases from technology development to market validation [4] - Investment should prioritize hard technology sectors aligned with national strategic directions, including new-generation information technology, high-end equipment manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and biomedicine [4] Policy Recommendations - Implement differentiated regulatory measures for institutions investing in early-stage and technology-driven SMEs, optimizing performance assessment mechanisms for government investment funds [4] - Leverage the mother fund's effect while developing various capital market tools such as angel investment, venture capital, and private equity to enhance patient capital [4] - Continuous optimization of the policy environment and market mechanisms is essential to ensure that capital effectively supports the growth of innovative SMEs, contributing to high-quality economic development in China [5]