SHANGHAI -- China's first bank for technological innovation, a result of joint investment by Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and America's Silicon Valley Bank, opened in Shanghai on Wednesday.

With a 1-billion-yuan ($157 million) investment, and each side holding 50 percent of shares, the SPD Silicon Valley Bank is the first joint venture bank since 1997 to win authorization by the country's Banking Regulatory Commission.

Yu Zhengsheng, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the CPC, inaugurated the bank on Wednesday morning.

The facility combines Shanghai's excellent financial resources and overseas financial services, said Tu Guangshao, vice mayor of Shanghai.

Fu Jianhua, former vice board chairman and vice president of SPDB serves as board chairman of the new bank, while Ken Wilcox, board chairman of the SVB serves as its president.

The SPD Silicon Valley Bank will mainly focus on business in Shanghai and then explore more high-tech cities in China, said Fu, emphasizing its offering of services for innovative enterprises.

Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, a nationwide joint-stock commercial bank, founded in 1992, now has a registered capital of 18.653 billion yuan.

Silicon Valley Bank, founded in 1983 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, serves clients around the world through 27 US offices and three international operations.