Shanghai authorities are expected to reverse conditions for businesses to resume work from next Wednesday, a city official said Sunday, easing a city-wide lockdown that began about two months ago. and will also introduce policies to support the economy.
The shopping center of Shanghai, China, saw a broad economic decline last month as the Covid-19 outbreaks triggered strict restrictions and lockdowns, affecting manufacturing, retail sales and its real estate sector.
Now, the city government will review guidelines for epidemic prevention and control of return to work, lift “irrational restrictions” on resumption of work and production for companies and end its “white list” system, said the deputy mayor. Wu Qing in a statement.
Businesses will also no longer need to apply from June 1 to resume work, he said, without detailing what other restrictions were being removed.
City officials also announced an action plan – comprising 50 policy measures – to boost the economy to help businesses and promote consumption.
These include accelerating the issuance and use of local government bonds, asking banks to renew loans to small and medium-sized businesses, and establishing a green channel for approving real estate projects.
The city will also reduce some taxes on passenger car purchases to encourage car consumption and increase the passenger car license plate quota by 40,000 this year. Shanghai issued 135,000 of these plates in 2021.
A subsidy of 10,000 yuan will also be given to people who want to switch to an electric vehicle.
In addition, authorities will seek to help businesses affected by the lockdown by allowing them to delay insurance and rent payments, as well as offering subsidies on their utility bills.
E-commerce platforms and large retail companies will be supported with voucher booklets, particularly for the cultural, tourism and fitness industries.
All these measures, combined with others that were launched in late March, are expected to reduce more than 300 billion yuan of financial burden as a result of the pandemic for market participants throughout the year, said Hua Yuan, deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai municipal government.
“In short, we will do our best to help all types of businesses and work together to restore and revitalize Shanghai’s economy,” Wu said.
“While the pandemic has had a major impact on Shanghai’s economy and society… The long-term positive trend of Shanghai’s economy has not changed.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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