Four companies from Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province made the 2021 list of potential unicorn companies in China, according to a report released by Greatwall Strategy Consultants, a private think tank in Beijing that focuses on new economic models.

The number of potential unicorn companies in China surged to 595 in 2021, up from 296 in 2019, according to the report.

Four of these potential unicorn companies are from Ningbo: XLG, RaySea Technology, Jingling and Joynext.

The growing number of potential unicorn companies is a crucial sign of a city's high-quality development in the new economy, experts said.

According to the think tank, "potential unicorn" refers to a China-registered company set up within five years and has a valuation of at least $100 million, or a company set up five to nine years ago and currently has a value of over $500 million.

In addition to potential unicorns, Ningbo is home to four global unicorns - Forehope Electronic, Zeekr Intelligent Technology, Rong Semiconductor and Jenscare Scientific, according to the Global Unicorn Index 2022 Half-Year Report released by the Hurun Research Institute on Aug 30.