SHANGHAI, Sept. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Hannes Androsch, AT&S Supervisory Board Chairman and member of Chongqing Mayor's International Economic Advisory Council (CMIA), attended the 12th Annual Meeting of the CMIA in Chongqing, China on September 24th.
He hosted a panel discussion themed "the Innovation Focus and Strategies for Chongqing Pilot Free Trade Zone".
It is the third consecutive year for AT&S to participate in this most influential event. Over the past years, Androsch has been sharing his insights and suggestions to support Chongqing's sustainable development by CMIA annual meetings. During the meeting, he was appointed by the Chongqing Mayor Zhang Guo Qing as the chairman for the 13rd Annual Meeting of the CMIA in 2018 due to his great contributions and knowledgeable insights.
At the panel discussion, Androsch kicked off the topic with a key note and underlined that the government plays a key role in fostering innovation in the Chongqing Free Trade Zone and on this matter, he proposed four recommendations.
Above all, the government should drive innovation in the financial sector, so that foreign firms are encouraged to move into the Free Trade Zone, and domestic firms are encouraged to establish themselves abroad. For instance, the government could ensure its corporate tax rates are competitive with other capable regions or countries. This measure will attract a greater level of foreign direct investment into the Free Trade Zone. The government can furthermore help domestic firms gain a foothold overseas by providing them with financing, such as loans or grants, which will enable them to establish their presence abroad. Enabling domestic firms to expand their operations overseas will increase the revenue streams of those firms, thus helping the local economy.
In addition to financial innovation, the government should focus on cultivating innovative entrepreneurs. More specifically, the government needs to create an environment within the Free Trade Zone that encourages those entrepreneurs to create innovative products. For example, the government should ensure private and public funding is available to support the innovative ventures of entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs should also have access to a qualified pool of labor, since highly skilled workers are essential for implementing innovative projects. The government is advised to relax migration laws and create attractive living facilities to attract highly skilled workers from other Chinese cities or abroad. The government should moreover make it easy for entrepreneurs to access cutting-edge, innovative knowledge. This can be accomplished through encouraging collaboration between entrepreneurs and academics or scientists. For instance, the government can create innovation hubs or districts, where research institutions and companies collaborate in terms of research and development, such as through joint-research projects which involve both entrepreneurs and academics. Such measures will help to create an innovative culture within the Free Trade Zone and inspire entrepreneurs to design innovative products.
Androsch pointed out the importance of e-governance. This involves the government using information technology to integrate its service platforms, reduce complexity of paper works and finally push innovation. Technology developed by AT&S helps make e-governance a reality. In particular, e-governance requires mobile devices, computers and servers for data storage, exchange and analysis, as well as the facilitation of online communication and transactions. Mobile devices, computers and Servers are built using advanced IC substrates and Substrate-like-PCBs (SLP), all of which are produced by AT&S, including in AT&S's manufacturing plants in Chongqing.
Finally, he advises the government to encourage firms to utilize crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing involves companies using online competitions to receive creative design ideas from potentially hundreds to thousands of people around the world. Crowdsourcing enables businesses to select the most innovative ideas out of an ocean of entries. Those ideas can then be used to develop more innovative and competitive products. The Chongqing government could encourage crowdsourcing by educating firms about the process and how it can help firms innovate in their product and service offerings.
At the meeting, Androsch shared AT&S's growing experience with Chongqing and China. With the combination of existing and new technologies particularly established in Chongqing, AT&S offers a comprehensive high-end range interconnect solutions for miniaturization and modulization for the semiconductors industry but also for the high-end microelectronics industry/supply chain. It is therefore a perfect match for the national policy - Made in China 2025, which is to develop the country into a high-tech manufacturing powerhouse. AT&S is fully committed to investing in technology and innovation in Chongqing and contributing to the development of high-end and value-added manufacturing industry in China.
