Measures of SZ to Support Enterprises amid COVID-19 outbreak

  1  

Enhance services provided to key enterprises in combating the epidemic. The approval of new projects to produce supplies for the epidemic prevention and control should be accelerated. Such projects shall enjoy priority in the allocation of resources such as land, water and electricity. Enterprises that produce supplies for the epidemic prevention and control are encouraged to increase investment in technological upgrading, and shall receive subsidies of up to 50% (capped at 20 million yuan) of investment in facilities purchased from February 1 to March 31, 2020. A temporary system to store such supplies will be established to encourage enterprises to accelerate production, and such supplies produced during the outbreak shall be purchased by the government after the epidemic. A special window shall be set up for the import of supplies for the epidemic prevention and control. A green channel shall be designated for the purchase of such supplies. During the prevention and control of the epidemic, according to national regulations, municipal and district institutions purchasing commodities, projects and services for the prevention and control of the epidemic with fiscal funds, shall finish the purchase on their own. The purchase of imported supplies is not subject to approval. Financial institutions should spare no efforts to satisfy the financing needs of the frontline in the fight against the epidemic. All district governments (including the management committees of new districts and Shenzhen-Shanwei Special Cooperation Zone) shall offer two months' fiscal subsidies to property management enterprises at the standard of 0.5 yuan per square meter of the total area covered by their management services. Hospitals designated for the treatment of patients infected with COVID-19 shall be provided with certain fiscal subsidies during the prevention and control of the epidemic. Temporary subsidies shall be provided to key enterprises of the “vegetable basket” (non-grain food supply) project to ensure food supplies and stable prices. 

  2  

Reduce or exempt property rents. Non-state-owned enterprises, research institutions, medical institutions and individually owned businesses, which rent properties (including factories, spaces for innovative industries, office buildings, wholesale farmers' markets, stores, warehouses and logistics facilities as well as rooms for supporting services) owned by the municipal or district governments and state-owned enterprises at municipal and district levels, shall be exempt from 2 months' rent. Non-state-owned enterprises, families or individuals who rent public or talent houses at municipal and district levels shall be exempt from 2 months’ rent. Companies with community shareholders, non-state-owned enterprises and individual property owners are encouraged to follow the practice adopted by state-owned enterprises in reducing rent.

  3  

Postpone the payment deadline of social insurance fees in accordance with laws and regulations. Employers who fail to pay social insurance premium on time as affected by the epidemic are allowed to postpone the payment until 3 months after the epidemic is over, and no overdue fine shall be charged.

  4  

Lower the percentage of housing provident fund paid by enterprises. Enterprises that are affected by the epidemic and fail to pay the housing provident fund can apply to reduce the housing fund contributions to as low as 3% for no longer than 12 months according to the law, or apply to postpone the payment of housing provident funds to no longer than 12 months later.

  5  

Refund urban sewage treatment fees to enterprises. Sewage treatment fees within 6 months shall be refunded to enterprises that are affected by the epidemic.

  6  

Reduce electricity costs of industrial and commercial enterprises. The city will pay for the basic fees of the two-part tariffs in electricity pricing of February for industrial and commercial enterprises. Property management departments of industrial parks and business buildings shall not charge the enterprises such basic fees.

  7  

Postpone tax payment deadlines and cut taxes in accordance with laws and regulations. Enterprises that are affected by the epidemic and fail to file taxes on time can apply to tax departments for postponing the filing of taxes. Enterprises with difficulties in production and operation and qualified for postponing the payment of taxes can apply to tax departments for postponing tax payment to no longer than 3 months later. Enterprises severely impacted by the epidemic are free of property taxes and urban land use taxes for 3 months.

  8  

Help enterprises to maintain a stable cash flow. Financial institutions shall not suspend or postpone making loans or recover loans in advance from enterprises hit hard by the epidemic or enterprises with good prospects but are encountering difficulties due to the epidemic outbreak. For enterprises hit hard by the epidemic or entrepreneurs with difficulty in repaying loans, rollovers or new loans may be made, while credit loans and mid- or long-term loans may be increased. Express re-discount channels shall be opened for notes discounted from enterprises taking part in epidemic prevention and control and key suppliers of major livelihood materials, and the service process shall be shortened to within 2 business days. Instruments such as re-lending shall be actively utilized to encourage financial institutions to provide credit loans at discounted interest rates to relevant enterprises. The risk compensation capital pool for loans made to small- and medium-sized enterprises shall be expanded to benefit entrepreneurs of small and micro businesses and individually owned businesses. The upper limit of risk loss compensation for new loans (rollovers are taken as new loans) made by commercial banks from February 1 to June 30, 2020 will be increased from 50% to 80%. Financial institutions are encouraged to issue more bonds related to epidemic prevention and control to streamline channels of direct financing. For stock pledge agreements that expire during the epidemic prevention and control period, a rollover of three to six months may be offered upon negotiation. 

  9  

Help enterprises to lower financing costs. Banking institutions are encouraged to lower lending rates and exempt or reduce commission charge at an appropriate level, and strive to cut the comprehensive financing costs of newly issued inclusive loans made to small and micro businesses by 0.5 percentage point compared with that of 2019. During the epidemic prevention and control period, policy-oriented financing guarantee institutions shall cut guarantee fees by 30%, and for other qualified partnering guarantee institutions, subsidies for guarantee fees shall be offered. Governmental re-guarantee institutions shall exempt re-guarantee fees for the rest of the year; the re-guarantee risks sharing ratio of financial guarantee funds shall be increased from a maximum of 50% to 60%; guarantee institutions are encouraged to guarantee every loan project recommended by qualified partnering banks.

  10  

Increase industrial financing support. The municipal industrial funds shall be first used to support medium, small and micro businesses hit hard by the epidemic. 10% of municipal-level special industrial funds shall be earmarked to subsidize loan interests. For new loans (rollovers are taken as new loans) given by financial institutions such as banks during the epidemic prevention and control period, a subsidy of 50% of the interests actually paid with a cap of 1 million yuan for no more than six months, shall be offered. For projects under construction which have received financial support from municipal-level special industrial funds and affected by the epidemic, project owners may submit a written application to the fund management authorities for a subsidy extension. Extension is generally made of 3 months and shall not exceed 6 months. 

  11  

Further unleash dividends brought by the “four 100 billion yuan” policy. Funds from bonds issuance and bank credit expansion shall be given full play. Financing support shall be given to private enterprises engaging in epidemic prevention and control or hit hard by the epidemic by helping them issue bonds. The Fund for Stable Development of Private Enterprises shall provide short-term liquidity support and preferential interest rates to quality small and medium-sized enterprises faced with cash flow difficulties caused by the epidemic. 

  12  

Step up support for the operation of public transport across the city. More temporary governmental subsidies shall be provided to drivers of taxis hailed at roadside, and the assessment criteria of the temporary subsidy for 1,000 yuan per taxi per month shall be relaxed. A reward mechanism of awarding taxi drivers whose driving time and distance in a single day meet a certain requirement with 50 yuan shall be established and implemented for 2 months. Taxi companies are encouraged to offer reasonable taxi rent cuts or exemptions for drivers, and for companies offering such rent cuts or exemptions, their periods of taxi operation will be extended correspondingly. Online car-hailing platforms are also encouraged to offer financial support and rewards to drivers. 

  13  

Beef up assistance to enterprises in saving jobs. During the epidemic prevention and control period, for insured enterprises that lay off no or few employees, 50% of the actual unemployment insurance fees they paid in the previous year will be refunded. For insured enterprises that lay off no or few employees despite difficulties in operation and production, 25% of the social insurance fees paid by the enterprises and their employees in the previous year will be refunded. For salaries paid by enterprises to employees during the period of their medical treatment or medical observation for COVID-19, a subsidy of no more than 50% of an employee’s pension insurance premium base will be offered to the enterprises. 

  14  

Implement policies for more flexible employment. Enterprises are allowed to adjust employees’ days off in the year in accordance with the law so as to balance the overall work time of employees who have resumed work and those who are currently unable to resume work. 

  15  

Increase subsidies for enterprise employee skill training. The standards of training subsidies will be further raised for enterprises arranging their employees to attend vocational skill training in 2020 in accordance with the needs of their positions. The subsidy for vocational training for new employees will be increased from a maximum of 900 yuan per person to a maximum of 1,500 yuan per person, while the subsidy for skill improvement training will be increased from an average of 1,400 yuan per person to 2,000 yuan per person. 

  16