MNI China Press Digest, Feb 6:Subsidy, Employment, Agriculture

     BEIJING (MNI) - The following lists highlights from Chinese press reports

on Thursday:

     The Chinese government will subsidize half the loan interest for key

medical companies, aiming to keep their lending rate below 1.6% amid the

epidemic, according to a statement on the government website. Banks will be

supported to provide preferential interest rates while lending to companies

involved in the production, transportation and sales of key medical materials

and daily necessities, including small and micro companies.

     A number of Chinese local authorities including those in Beijing and

Shanghai have offered to rebate companies' payments on unemployment social

insurance, according to The Paper. The report says the move aims to encourage

companies not to lay off workers amid the outbreak of coronavirus. 

     Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua called on the country to stabilize

agricultural production and restore production capacity for pigs while

strengthening measures to prevent the coronavirus, according to Xinhua News

Agency. China will try to ensure the grain harvest this year, Hu said.

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: wanxia.lin@marketnews.com

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: archie.zhang@marketnews.com

--MNI Sydney Bureau; +61 405322399; email: lachlan.colquhoun.ext@marketnews.com

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