Finland Times

Finland and China have set up a fund that will pool money from Chinese and Finnish enterprises to invest in innovative startups and joint tech projects.

     The 40-million-euro fund, agreed at a forum in Beijing technology hub Zhongguancun on Tuesday, will focus on the clean technology, games, information, telecommunications and new energy sectors in northern Europe and the area around the Baltic Sea.

     Guo Hong, head of Zhongguancun's management committee; Meng Jingwei, a leading official of Beijing's Haidian District; and Janni Heinonen with Finpro, an organization helping small Finnish companies go international, attended the signing ceremony.

     Also on Tuesday, Zhongguancun hosted Slush, a Finnish non-profit event giving startups and tech talent the opportunity to meet investors. The first "Slush China" was attended by Nokia Board Chairman Risto Siilasmaa and executives of a number of Chinese firms including Tencent and Alibaba.

     Tuesday's events came two days after Zhongguancun announced plans to overhaul its main street to provide building space for tech startups, technological financiers and big data firms, among other sectors prioritized for development by the government.