Today, due to unclear demand and information asymmetry, investment promotion efforts suffer from a certain degree of blindness, resulting in the waste of significant resources and costs. To fundamentally transform investment promotion, a key step is to shift from “blanket-style” to “map-based” approaches, avoiding “mass mobilization” and “universal recruitment,” and instead implementing a planned “industrial investment promotion map.”

An industrial investment map helps governments understand the distribution patterns and development trends of industries, enabling a shift toward a more scientific and targeted approach to investment promotion and increasing the success rate of such efforts. Recently, cities such as Shanghai and Suzhou have successively released their industrial investment maps, attracting widespread attention. So, what exactly is an industrial investment map? And how should research on industrial investment maps be conducted?

What Is an Industrial Investment Attraction Map?

An industrial investment map is a vision for the future development of a region’s industries

An industrial investment attraction map illustrates the vision for a region’s future development held by stakeholders such as governments, enterprises, universities, and research institutions. It is the result of the convergence and integration of knowledge, ideals, public resources, relevant investments, and control and management processes.

An Industrial Investment Promotion Map is a technical solution for targeted regional investment promotion

Industrial investment attraction maps provide comprehensive industrial and technological intelligence, offering a complete framework for identifying, evaluating, and selecting strategies to meet a region’s strategic needs in industry and technology.

An Industrial Investment Promotion Map is a process management tool for scientific investment promotion

The Industrial Investment Promotion Map captures future trends in industry and technology, identifies the critical elements necessary for the region’s successful industrial development, and assists in identifying, connecting with, and attracting these key factors.

Simply put, an industrial investment promotion map is a customized mapping system of potential investment targets developed based on regional strategic planning and industrial development needs, after thoroughly identifying the region’s industrial strengths and gaps.

How to Conduct Industrial Investment Promotion Map Research?

1. Start with local policies and combine them with the existing industrial foundation to develop an industrial development plan. Select 2–3 leading industries that meet local requirements, possess significant development potential, and offer high added value.

2. Conduct industry research using tools such as national industrial plans and industry white papers to clarify industry definitions and classifications, gain a thorough understanding of industry development, and present the upstream and downstream sub-sectors of the selected industries in chart form (industrial chain analysis).

3. Begin by examining the distribution of existing enterprises and industries within the region, as well as its technological foundation, to understand the current state of industrial development. Identify leading industries and enterprises that the industrial park should prioritize for cooperation and partnership, and research the capabilities, products, and market position of each potential target enterprise.

4. Identify key priorities and areas for improvement in industrial development based on development goals, trends, and local foundations.

5. Determine the industrial development pathway based on the industrial foundation and development goals.

6. Through industrial research, identify a list of recommended enterprises and key target enterprises.

Finally, create a comprehensive industrial map.

The significance of an industrial investment promotion map lies in its ability to assist investment promotion professionals in targeting key segments, technologies, and components of priority industries to implement supply chain-based investment promotion.

Principles Governing the Industrial Investment Promotion Map

In accordance with the aforementioned objectives, the implementation of the industrial investment promotion map plan must adhere to the following principles:

1. Targeted Approach

By combining methods such as macro-trend analysis, regional strategic analysis, and industrial segmentation and correlation analysis, we conduct tiered searches and layered screening to clarify investment promotion targets and develop targeted cooperation plans and negotiation strategies.

2. Adapt to Local Conditions

Conduct in-depth research on regional industrial strategies and tailor the industrial investment promotion map to the specific characteristics of different regions and industries, with the goal of maximizing regional potential when identifying and selecting investment targets.

3. Collaborative Engagement

Fully engage stakeholders—including government agencies, businesses, universities, and research institutions—in the development of industrial investment attraction maps, fostering a shared vision for development and coordinating strategic actions throughout the implementation process.

4. Follow-up Services

Establish and maintain connections with potential investment targets, providing comprehensive support services throughout the entire process—including preliminary site visits, cooperation negotiations, project evaluations, follow-up business coordination, and personnel training—to effectively ensure the introduction, implementation, and sustainable development of projects.

An industrial investment attraction map can detail the distribution of potential investment targets or partners, enabling investment promotion through scientific methods. With a precise investment attraction map in hand, promoters gain a clear understanding of the landscape, making the investment process flow naturally and achieving twice the result with half the effort!

Tanikawa Alliance undertakes industrial investment promotion mapping research for government-managed industrial parks across the country. Interested government parks are welcome to add Xiao Chuan on WeChat at tanikawa-lly or scan the QR code below to contact us~