<i>Going Sino-tech</i>
An old saying in the ancient 'Middle Kingdom' used to go like this -- "Even the loftiest towers rise from the ground"-- meaning that even the most successful venture in the world has its roots in one single idea or a dream. Standing in the vicinity of the northern tips of modern day Pearl River Delta, you will have the same kind of feeling, if you know how this city of booming high rises, skyscrapers, hi-tech parks and technology zones looked like thirty years back. Even at the start of the year 1980, the fishing villages of ancient Bao'an County was, in many ways, a stereotype of eternal Chinese seaside hamlet. Three decades since then, that place is now where the bulk of the world's iPods, iMacs, iPhones and iPads are churned out while the city that stands there was famously described as "one high-rise a day and one boulevard every three days". To conjure a sparkling skyline out of thin air might sound nothing new for the world's fastest growing economy, but the accounts of Shenzhen, China's Silicon Valley, could be a brainwave for millions of tech savvies. Indeed, the growing up of Shenzhen is something out of the ordinary. After all, back in the late 70s, this area became China's first Special Economic Zone when the then leadership singled out this place as a test case for experimenting with market capitalism within Chinese socialist milieu. The move proved successful and it changed the whole country forever for the better. Plethora of foreign investment flowed into Shenzhen, from around the world including Hong Kong whose proximity from the former added a boon to the burgeoning city's growth. Flexible government policies for attracting foreign investment coupled with cheap labour and the city's locational advantage played its part to turn the once fishing village into the harbinger of the Chinese boom. Today, Shenjhen is not merely a city of high-rise structures and bustling thoroughfares. It can claim to be the darling of every hi-tech enthusiasts for being the manufacturing base of some of the world's famous names in consumer electronics. The city houses some of the biggest names in global and Chinese hi-tech industry including Foxconn, Huawei, BYD and ZTE. Ever wondered where your Apple iPods, iPads and iPhones are coming from? In fact, they are all manufactured in Foxconn's very own manufacturing plant in Shenzhen called Longhua Science & Technology Park, deservingly often referred as iPod City. "Today's hi-tech boom of modern China owes something to Shenzhen," says Wonder Wang, a senior official with Huawei, a hi-tech giant based in the Longgang District of the city. "When our company was founded in 1980s, China was under the transition from planned economy to market economy," says Wang, now the country representative of Huawei in Bangladesh. "Against this backdrop, Shenzhen offered us the best possible support for building giant private enterprises," he says. Starting its journey in 1988, Huawei, within a short span, has seen a rise to become the world's number two company in the mobile equipment industry. In Bangladesh, Huawei is linked up with all the major telecom operators, providing 'energy efficient and cost effective' end-to-end telecom solutions. "Our local partners have gained a lot in Bangladesh, and the reason why they have succeeded until now is Bangladesh's large population that brings a huge number of potential target customers," Wang says. "But in the next phase of market development, our local customers will not be satisfied with simple voice services. They will ask for more, like speedy internet access, multimedia, video calls and other advanced communication facilities." In this context, he underscores the need to introduce 3G services. Experts however say that Bangladesh can replicate the success of Shenzhen, as the country is now in the same advantageous position in terms of cheap labour. There is a saying in ancient Chinese folklore --"Wanna be rich? Build roads first!" "Sadly the infrastructure and energy situation in Bangladesh is not up to the level to lure massive foreign investment," Wang says. The IT industry insiders in Bangladesh have long been calling for setting up hi-tech and software technology parks to provide a safe heaven for attracting investment in the ICT industry. Although, there have been some government initiatives over the years and regular budgetary allocations for building such technology zones, anything like an exclusive hi tech zone or software parks is yet to see light. "A precondition for attracting foreign investment in the hi-tech zone is the easing of bureaucratic tangles and regulations," says Mahbub Zaman, president of the national trade body for software firms. "The local companies should also get ready to face the increasing competition from the foreign hi-tech companies," says Zaman, managing director of Datasoft, a local IT company. In China, the government still provides preferential policies to attract investors to the SEZs, while big companies like Huawei have their own technology park with enough room for separate research and development centres, data centre, manufacturing plant and training institute. Today's China is growing and Shenzhen is where it all began. As the giant 'Middle Kingdom' gradually reclaims its usual position globally, the once coastal hamlet along the Pearl River epitomises how the government thrust on the hi-tech industries can change a nation forever. Along the line of the 'Digital Bangladesh' vision, it is time for Bangladesh to showcase its own version of hi-tech miracles that its Asian neighbours have already exemplified. mehdi@thedailystar.net
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