MNI BRIEF: Shanghai Pledges Business Relief Amid Lockdown

The city of Shanghai has introduced a support package to businesses impacted by measures to contain an outbreak surge in Covid-19 cases, an official said at a briefing on Tuesday.

Shanghai will offer value-added tax rebates to small businesses, extend tax deadlines, and provide six months of rent relief to businesses renting government-owned properties, Ruan Qing, an official with the local branch of the National Development and Reform Commission. Tax-related policies will save businesses CNY140 billion this year, he said. China is banking on fiscal and monetary policies to create conditions for a rebound in growth this year even as it pursues strict measures to contain the spread of Covid-19, see: MNI: PBOC Seen Cutting Deposit Cost As It Pushes Banks To Lend.

Shanghai on Tuesday is on day two of an eight-day two-phase lockdown as it conducts mass testing on its 25 million people.