During the five-day China International SME's Commodities Fair which closed Tuesday in Changzhou, in east China's Jiangsu Province, 100 tech-heavy start-ups from China's prosperous Yangtze River Delta region held intensive consultations with representatives from international venture capital investors.

Apart from seeking financing, these SMEs, which are currently engaged in software, telecommunications, new materials and biomedicine, have also shown interest in market networks, technology and management improvement during the fair.

Zhu Ruiqin, chairperson of the Changshou Cailang Technology Development Co., Ltd, said due to marketing problems, 90 percent of her enterprise's products, though innovative, have not yet entered the market.

"We hope international venture capital can present more opportunities for us to cooperate with big companies," Zhu said.

Li Jianguang, partner of the US-based IDG Technology Investment Fund, said after the fair, he has more confidence in the development of this region and will treat it as the Fund's major investment site.

SMEs, recognized as the driving force of China's economy, currently face the challenge of inadequate funding sources. The Chinese government has introduced venture capital to support their expansion.

(Xinhua News Agency September 25, 2002)