A batch of firms in OVC are granted the title of gazelle companies on Nov 15. [Photo/WeChat account of Optics Valley of China]

The Optics Valley Forum for Gazelle Companies took place on Nov 15, in the East Lake High-tech Development Zone (also known as Optics Valley of China, or OVC).

Themed on "original motivation, rapid growth, and new production capacity", the forum included the release of the 2023 OVC's gazelle companies' development report and the award ceremony for the top 30 gazelle companies in the valley, along with recognition for financial and investment institutions that facilitated their development.

In this year's recognition, 518 firms were designated as gazelle companies, bringing the total number in the valley to 1,690. Among them, 23 are listed, eight are unicorn enterprises, and 570 have been selected as Hubei's new seed firms for sci-tech innovation.

The research expenditure of the 518 recognized enterprises surpassed 4.52 billion yuan ($630.09 million), doubling the amount in 2020. Additionally, 43 companies invested more than 20 million yuan in R&D in 2022.

The R&D investment intensity of the 518 gazelle companies reached 20.8 percent, 5.5 percentage points higher than those recognized last year.

Experts highlight that gazelle enterprises exhibit new industrial scopes, higher technologies, flexible capital markets, and rapid growth rates.

The clustering of numerous gazelles in the same field and related industries in a particular region signifies the formation of an emerging industrial cluster. In the era of the digital economy, with decreased marginal production costs, enterprises are demonstrating nonlinear growth trends.

Recommendations suggest that OVC should prioritize original innovation and encourage high-level talents such as overseas returnees, senior executives from large companies, mature entrepreneurs, scientific workers, college graduates, and post-90s youth, to engage in high-level entrepreneurial activities.