MNI China Press Digest Mar 29: Shanghai, SME Support, Finance

The following lists highlights from Chinese press reports on Tuesday:

• The Shanghai government will introduce policies to help businesses deal with the stringent anti-Covid measures the city has taken, including tax and rent relief programs, Yicai.com said citing a government meeting held on Monday. The city government will help businesses stabilize production and strengthen their industrial supply chain, it said. Shanghai has also taken measures to boost the city's Covid testing capabilities, including quicker approvals of laboratories to carry out nucleic acid tests, it said.
• Smaller businesses in China are calling for greater support from the government to deal with the impact of anti-Covid measures, the Securities Times reported. A week-long lockdown in Shenzhen, one of China’s top four megacities, has caused prolonged difficulties to SMEs and the service industry, and rescue measures should be strengthened including considering direct cash support, the newspaper said. Shenzhen has cut rents, lower social security costs, subsidize corporate spending on disinfection and increase financing guarantee support, but some businesses said the measures are not strong and targeted enough, the newspaper said.
• China's aggregate finance may exceed CNY3.5 trillion in March, a jump from February’s disappointing CNY1.19 trillion, following top policymakers’ call to maintain moderate growth in credit and social financing, the Securities Daily reported citing analysts. Local government special bonds and corporate bond financing are expected to increase, though the credit demand of residents and enterprises may be muted amid more financial market volatility and rising energy and raw material prices, the newspaper citing Zhou Maohua, a researcher at Everbright Bank. New loans may also improve from February’s CNY1.23 trillion to as much as CNY3 trillion, the newspaper said citing Essence Securities.