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Qingdao, A Venture Capital City Is Rising Up

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The city rises, and capital moves towards “new”!

QINGDAO, China, May 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — On May 28th, with the theme of “Venture and Capital for a New Era Innovation and Entrepreneurship for a Brighter Future “, the “2024 Qingdao Venture Capital Conference “, hosted by the Qingdao Municipal People’s Government and co-organized by CVINFO, opened at the Shangri-La Hotel in Qingdao. The one-and-a-half-day conference, which combines online and offline formats, has gathered more than a hundred industry experts, scholars, and entrepreneurs from internationally renowned investment banks and leading venture capital and private equity institutions to discuss the opportunities and future of capital and to activate new drivers for high-quality development.

A Conference with High “Gold Content”

In 2019, Qingdao set the goal of building a venture capital and private equity center and tailored the venture capital and private equity conference as a platform for gathering high-quality financial resources. Over the past five years, the influence of the conference has been continuously increasing and has become an important window for the venture capital and private equity industry to pay attention to the development of Qingdao.

Compared with the previous five sessions, this session of the 2024 Qingdao Venture Capital Conference has higher “gold content”.

Introducing a high “gold content” policy package.

Leveraging the advantages of policy transmission, innovation, and inclusiveness, we have made efforts to plan and layout the “five major articles”, enabling more accurate empowerment of scientific and technological innovation, which is the “best solution” for capital to serve the real economy.

For this reason, at this conference, the “Qingdao Further Support for the High-Quality Development of the Financial Industry Policy Measures” and the “Several Policies on Strengthening the Joint Linkage of Fiscal and Financial Support for the High-Quality Development of the Whole City” were released, aiming at the goal of “building a strong financial city”, further optimizing the policy environment, and contributing to the high-quality development of the whole city.

The two newly formulated policy systems are comprehensive in content, extensive in coverage, highlight key points, and have strong competitiveness, which will further promote the “two-way rush” between the city and capital power, and the “two-wing flight” of industry and new quality productive forces development. Enable venture capital and private equity institutions to invest successfully, thrive, and reap rewards in Qingdao.”

The landing of high “gold content” projects once again demonstrates Qingdao’s sincerity and confidence in attracting and serving high-quality development through project introduction and landing services.

At the conference, the Qingdao Municipal Government signed a strategic cooperation agreement with CICC, using the project resources and professional advantages of the leading investment bank to focus on major strategies, key areas, and major projects, providing comprehensive financial services, contributing to the development of Qingdao’s capital market and economic social development.

Focus on high-quality project signing to build a modern industrial system in Qingdao.

For example, Capital Management Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Shandong Energy Group, has established a 7 billion yuan technology industry fund, helping expand the new development pattern of industrial investment in Qingdao; New energy vehicle new power millet Xiaomi fund invested in Qingdao Yunlu New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., Upgrading industry level in Qingdao; Hisense Group’s fund manager completed the registration, marking the full coverage of direct investment platforms for large enterprises in Qingdao.

A Conference with a Strong “Vane” Color

The “vane” color of this session of the venture capital and private equity conference is more intense.

The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held on April 30 proposed that it is necessary to develop new quality productive forces according to local conditions, strengthen the layout of national strategic scientific and technological forces, cultivate and expand emerging industries, advance the layout and construction of future industries, and use advanced technology to empower the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries. It is necessary to actively develop venture capital and expand patient capital.

In terms of actively cultivating emerging industries and future industries, the 2024 Government Work Report proposes to “encourage the development of venture capital and equity investment, and optimize the function of industrial investment funds”.

The Central Economic Work Conference held in 2023 proposed to “encourage the development of venture capital and equity investment”. When explaining the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference in detail, the relevant responsible comrade of the Central Finance Office said: “It is necessary to encourage the development of venture capital and equity investment, and support long-term capital and patient capital to invest more in scientific and technological innovation. “

How can capital empower new quality productivity? How to cultivate more patient capital, guests attending this forum expressed their opinions and offered solutions respectively.

Tu Guangshao, Executive Director of Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance, brought a keynote speech on “Global Industrial Chain Restructuring and New Opportunities for China’s Industrial Economy”; Chen Wenling, Chief Economist, Executive Deputy Director, and Deputy Director of the Academic Committee of China Center for International Economic Exchanges, shared wonderful insights on “Developing New Quality Productivity and Promoting Sustainable Development”; Du Pengfei, Party Committee Member and Management Committee Member of China International Capital Corporation Limited, expressed wonderful views on “Practice and Thinking of Capital Investment”.

In addition, Zhang Wei, Chairman of CoStone Capital, and Zheng Weihe, Chairman and Founding Partner of Cowin Capital, and other heads of domestic leading venture capital institutions elaborated on the development of the innovation system and the capital market, the innovation and development of China’s equity investment, and the acceleration of the construction of Qingdao’s venture capital and private equity ecology.

The guests generally believe that through efficient financial empowerment of new quality productivity, it is not only an important part of deepening the reform of the Supply-side Structural but also an important action to implement the spirit of the Central Financial Work Conference. In the process of accelerating the cultivation and development of new quality productivity, science and technology are equally important, and actively developing venture capital and jointly growing patient capital is the key to the transformation and development of the financial industry towards the new and the real.

In order to thoroughly implement the spirit of the Central Committee on actively cultivating and building a financial culture with Chinese characteristics, and actively practice the requirements of the financial culture with Chinese characteristics in the field of equity investment, combined with the characteristics and cultural connotation requirements of the equity investment field, the 2024 Qingdao Venture Capital and Private Equity Conference also initiated the “Initiative for the Construction of Chinese Equity Investment Culture” in the Chinese venture capital and private equity field for the first time, calling for the promotion of industry cultural connotation and the strengthening of the standard requirements for industry development.

A Conference to Create a High-Quality Capital Matrix

A high-quality capital matrix is the basic “base” for serving new quality productivity.

For a city, in a high-quality capital matrix, the government’s guiding fund with the effect of “lifting a thousand pounds with four taels” is indispensable, and one of its missions is to highlight the policy guidance function, guiding funds to flow to key technical fields that the market dares not invest in and where there is a large demand for funds, cultivating emerging industries and future industries, and filling the long-term capital gap.

On the afternoon of May 28, the 2024 Government Guidance Fund Ecological Conference, led by the Municipal Finance Bureau and the Municipal Guidance Fund Trusteeship Management Agency, was grandly held. More than a hundred well-known investment institutions, business representatives and industry experts gathered together to link the guidance funds through the conference. Various cooperative institutions and resource parties held discussions around the development direction of venture capital and equity investment, the virtuous cycle of government-guided funds, and the development of new quality productivity in venture capital and venture capital services, and conducted in-depth discussions on the fundraising, investment, and development of venture capital and venture capital industries. The core issues faced by management and withdrawal of various chains, and interpretation of the current status and development direction of key industries and hot spots.

In addition, the conference also cooperated with the city’s listed emerging industry professional parks to carry out project roadshows, organized on-site reviews of venture capital and venture capital institutions, expanded the influence of high-quality enterprises, smoothed the two-way docking channels for funds and project investment and financing, and led the venture capital to inject vitality into the fertile industrial soil. , connect industrial clusters and promote high-quality economic development.

At the conference, CVINFO also used the outstanding investment institutions’ establishment of funds, investment projects and project exit results in Qingdao in the past three years as a benchmark to discover and commend outstanding investors who have made outstanding contributions to the construction of Qingdao’s international venture capital and venture capital center. Partners, attract more outstanding investors to become Qingdao city partners, and provide a reference for Qingdao to build a high-quality capital matrix.

It is worth mentioning that this conference actively advocates the practice of green investment concepts and uses digital RMB payment to purchase the carbon emission reductions of Qingdao’s carbon inclusive platform “lcago” to neutralize this venture capital investment. The carbon emissions generated in transportation, catering, accommodation, conference affairs, etc. during the conference have achieved a “zero-carbon conference” and provided a reference for enterprises and financial institutions to serve green and low-carbon development.

Capital empowers industry, new quality drives development. In this warm season, let’s turn our attention to the 2024 Qingdao Venture Capital Conference.

 

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SOURCE CVINFO

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Sapient Insights Group Reveals the HR Technology Solutions Ranking Highest in Vendor Satisfaction and User Experience for 2026

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Voice of the Customer badges awarded across 23 HR technology categories, based on 10,000 responses to Sapient’s 2026-2027 Annual HR Systems Survey

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Sapient Insights Group today revealed the HR technology solutions ranking highest in vendor satisfaction and user experience in its 2026-2027 HR Systems Survey, now in its 29th year. This year Sapient awarded 630 Voice of the Customer badges across 23 technology categories and three company sizes. The rankings are based on responses from HR professionals representing 6,038 organizations.

Stacey Harris, Chief Research Officer and Managing Partner at Sapient Insights Group, presents the HR technology solutions ranking highest in vendor satisfaction and user experience for 2026.

To help buyers find the providers that fit their organization, the rankings are split into three company sizes: small, mid-sized, and enterprise. Respondents rate their satisfaction with their current solution in each technology category on a scale of 1 to 5, with attention to support and service. Sapient also ranks solutions on user experience. The top five solutions in each category and size earn a badge for vendor satisfaction and a badge for user experience. Three categories with smaller sample sizes (Time Labor Budgeting, Contingent Workforce Management, and Skills Management) are ranked in aggregate across all company sizes.

The survey continues to grow with the HR technology market. New this year, the survey adds Compliance Management to the HR Blueprint, application-level outcome questions, payment models for applications and AI, and finance applications covering Core, Expense, and Planning. It also asks more “why” questions throughout, so the results show not just what organizations are doing but the reasons behind their choices.

“Our Voice of the Customer rankings come straight from HR practitioners, with no sponsorship involved, which is why buyers and vendors both pay attention to them,” said Stacey Harris, chief research officer and managing partner at Sapient Insights Group. “This year we expanded the rankings to cover more of the HR technology landscape, which gives buyers a clearer view of how solutions perform for the specific work they need done, not just at the suite level. It also gives vendors honest feedback from the people who use their products every day.”

The highest-ranking solutions for vendor satisfaction are listed below. Rankings include point solutions, modules within technology suites, and in some cases service providers.

Payroll
Dayforce – Enterprise
isolved – Mid-sized
BambooHR – Small

HR Management
Dayforce – Enterprise
HiBob – Mid-sized
BambooHR – Small

Benefits
Businessolver – Enterprise
Fidelity NetBenefits/PSW – Mid-sized
HiBob – Small

HR Service Delivery: Portal
Dovetail – Enterprise
Workday Help – Mid-sized
isolved – Small

HR Service Delivery: Content Management
Dovetail – Enterprise
DocuSign – Mid-sized
isolved – Small

HR Service Delivery: Employee Help Desk
Dovetail – Enterprise
ServiceNow – Mid-sized
isolved – Small

HR Service Delivery: Engagement Survey
Dovetail – Enterprise
isolved – Mid-sized
BambooHR – Small

Time and Attendance
Darwinbox – Enterprise
isolved – Mid-sized
isolved – Small

Absence Management
Darwinbox – Enterprise
isolved – Mid-sized
BambooHR – Small

Leave Management
Darwinbox – Enterprise
isolved – Mid-sized
isolved – Small

Workforce Scheduling
Darwinbox – Enterprise
isolved – Mid-sized
isolved – Small

Labor Budgeting
isolved – All sizes

Learning
Cornerstone – Enterprise
OpenSesame – Mid-sized
isolved – Small

Recruiting
Indeed – Enterprise
Greenhouse – Mid-sized
BambooHR – Small

Onboarding
Dayforce – Enterprise
isolved (ApplicantPro) – Mid-sized
BambooHR – Small

Performance
Dayforce – Enterprise
HiBob – Mid-sized
BambooHR – Small

Compensation
Dayforce – Enterprise
Payscale Payfactors – Mid-sized
Insperity – Small

Succession
Dayforce – Enterprise
Microsoft Glint – Mid-sized
Paylocity – Small

Rewards and Recognition
Awardco – Enterprise
isolved – Mid-sized
Gifted – Small

Analytics
Visier – Enterprise
Visier – Mid-sized
UKG People Analytics – Small

AI/ML
Visier Vee – Enterprise
Grammarly – Mid-sized
Anthropic Claude – Small

Contingent Workforce Management
ServiceNow – All sizes

Skills Management HiBob – All sizes

The complete Voice of the Customer results, including the top five solutions for vendor satisfaction and user experience in every category and company size, are available here (https://sapientinsights.com/top-vendors/).

Sapient Insights Group will publish detailed survey findings and analysis in its annual HR Systems Research Report on November 6, 2026. The report will be available to purchase here (https://sapientinsights.com/shop/).

About the 2026-2027 HR Systems Survey

Now in its 29th year, Sapient’s HR Systems Survey is the longest-running, most comprehensive survey of the HR technology landscape, and the only fully objective, non-sponsored study of its kind. This year, HR professionals representing 6,038 organizations around the globe took part. The survey now covers 23 technology categories. The annual report includes an in-depth look at each category, along with current and future adoption rates, customer retention, replacement plans, and projected vendor growth.

For more information about the survey and report, schedule a call (https://calendly.com/summerorellano/schedule-a-call-with-sapient-insights-group).

About Sapient Insights Group Sapient Insights Group is a certified women-owned, privately-owned consulting, research, and advisory firm. The company works with organizations in the areas of HR and finance technology; HR strategy and transformation; leadership and culture; change management; talent management; mergers and acquisitions; and project management. The company’s HR Systems Survey is the HR profession’s most trusted source for objective data on the HR technology market and insights to guide buyer investments and vendor product development and marketing. For more information, visit www.sapientinsights.com.

Media Contact

Allison Williams, Sapient Insights Group, 1 4043044748, Info@sapientinsights.com, https://sapientinsights.com/

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SOURCE Sapient Insights Group

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SAJ Debuts First CEC-Approved Systems under Australia’s New Battery Standard at All Energy 2026

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EK70 HS5 and EK90 HS5 on show at Stand M143, with Australia’s Strongest Man at Stand E01 and the SAJ range across three distributor stands

MELBOURNE, Australia, Oct. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — SAJ will exhibit at All Energy Australia 2026 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on 28–29 October. At Stand M143, installers can get their first hands-on look at the EK70 HS5 and EK90 HS5, the first products approved under Australia’s new SA TS 5398 standard.

At 2pm on Wednesday 28 October, DEKRA and CCS will present SAJ with the CEC certificates for the EK70 HS5 and EK90 HS5 on the stand, making SAJ the first brand listed under SA TS 5398. SAJ and DEKRA will also sign a strategic cooperation agreement covering safety, quality and compliance.

On the stand

EK70 HS5 – the all-in-one home energy system, combining hybrid inverter, LFP battery and whole-home backup in one unit. Modular 6, 7 and 9 kWh battery blocks stack to suit the household.EK90 HS5 – the premium tier, with 12,000-cycle cells, nine-layer safety protection, edge AI and a 15-year warranty.B2S and H2 – modular storage and the latest from SAJ’s residential range.elekeeper 5.0 – SAJ’s energy management app, with AI-assisted design, five-minute app commissioning and remote diagnosis.C&I – SAJ’s latest commercial and industrial solutions.

Live demonstrations of the EK70 HS5 and EK90 HS5, elekeeper 5.0 and the C&I range run at 10am on both days and again at 3pm on Wednesday.

Visitors can also play the claw machine on the stand throughout both days to win tennis balls signed by SAJ brand ambassador Alex de Minaur.

Beat Australia’s Strongest Man of 2026 at Stand E01

At Stand E01, near the hall entrance, visitors can take on Bradman Houston, Australia’s Strongest Man 2026, on the high striker. Bradman will be there each day. Anyone who beats his score wins!

Bradman recently partnered with SAJ and Sydney Solar & Electrical on a video series about lifting technique and fitness for solar installers, now on SAJ’s Instagram.

SAJ across the floor

The SAJ range is also on show with the company’s three national distribution partners, for stock, pricing and account conversations:

One Stop Warehouse – Stand EE113, with the EK90 HS5 on displaySupply Partners – Stand L135Tradezone – Stand S113

“All Energy is where the industry sees what’s next, and for SAJ that’s the EK70 HS5 and EK90 HS5,” said Alan Li, the Sales Director of SAJ Electric Australia. “Installers told us they want one integrated system that’s faster to install and that they can stand behind. Being the first brand listed under SA TS 5398 is the proof. We’d love installers to see both systems up close at Stand M143, and to try their luck against Bradman at E01 while they’re there.”

Visit SAJ

Where: Stand M143 (Beat the Strongest Man at Stand E01), Melbourne Convention and Exhibition CentreWhen: Wednesday 28 – Thursday 29 October 2026More information: au.saj-electric.com

About SAJ

Founded in Guangzhou in 2005, SAJ (Guangzhou Sanjing Electric Co., Ltd.) is a specialist in smart energy storage, delivering integrated solutions across solar generation, battery storage, energy management and EV charging for residential and commercial customers. SAJ has operated in Australia since 2013 and works with three national distribution partners – One Stop Warehouse, Supply Partners and Tradezone – backed by local technical support and warranty infrastructure.

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SOURCE SAJ

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Starvia Automotive Expands Used-Car Exports to Afghanistan and Iran

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GUANGZHOU, China, Oct. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Starvia Automotive has added Afghanistan and Iran to the destinations covered by its used-car export business, the company said on Oct. 21, as it focuses on used vehicles built to Chinese-market specifications. Buyers in both markets can now request an assessment of a specific vehicle before an order is confirmed.

What the review covers

For a used vehicle, the model name alone does not determine whether an export order can proceed. Year of manufacture, vehicle identity, condition, ownership documents and destination import rules are reviewed for each request, together with carrier acceptance, transit requirements and payment restrictions, according to the company.

Starvia cited two listings in its online used-car catalog as examples of the process: a 2023 Volkswagen Polo and a 2021 Volkswagen Tharu. The company said the listings show published stock and do not confirm that either unit is available or eligible for import into both markets. Stock, vehicle records and destination suitability are confirmed before a model is presented as an order option.

How an inquiry is handled

Inquiries are submitted through the company’s online form, which asks for destination city, importer details, preferred vehicle, quantity and purchasing timeframe. Starvia said the information is used to identify suitable vehicles, check documentation and seek a transport option, and that alternatives can be discussed if the first model does not meet the requirements.

An Arabic-language version of the site is available at https://www.starviaauto.com/ar?utm_source=prnews for buyers who prefer Arabic.

Any vehicle offer, freight estimate or shipment timing remains subject to commercial, regulatory and logistics checks, the company said. Buyers should obtain destination-side import approval before committing to a purchase.

About Starvia Automotive

Starvia Automotive is a Guangzhou-based exporter of new and used vehicles. Its online catalog lists used cars with vehicle history and inspection information for buyers in multiple regions.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/starvia-automotive-expands-used-car-exports-to-afghanistan-and-iran-302915298.html

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