User blogs

China stocks rose on Monday, with tourism and consumer sectors leading the gains, as Shanghai’s top party boss declared victory over COVID-19 after the city reported zero new local cases for the first time in two months.To get more shanghai stock market news, you can visit shine news official website.

Hong Kong equities surged the most in nearly six weeks, with tech giants climbing to their highest level since March 1.The CSI300 index rose 1.3% to 4,449.70 points at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.9% to 3,379.16 points.The Hang Seng index added 3.2% to 22,403.53 points. The Hong Kong China Enterprises Index gained 3.4% to 7,886.79.
Shanghai Communist Party chief Li Qiang said at the opening at the city’s party congress that authorities had “won the war to defend Shanghai” against COVID by implementing the instructions of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Beijing said it would allow primary and secondary schools to resume in-person classes, while Shanghai will gradually resume dining-in at restaurants from June 29 in some areas.Also boosting sentiment, China’s central bank said it made the biggest daily cash injection into the banking system via open market operations in nearly three months.

Stocks gained in Asia amid improved risk sentiment after Wall Street rebounded strongly at the end of last week as oil prices eased.Profits at China’s industrial firms contracted for a second month in May, but at a slower pace than in April, due to the resumption of activity in major manufacturing hubs as COVID-19 curbs were eased.

Tourism companies jumped more than 4% and consumer staples rose nearly 3%, while shares in healthcare and energy firms added more than 2% each.China’s securities regulator proposed rules to regulate private pension investment via mutual funds, setting the criteria for qualified products and sales agents under a scheme that will channel fresh savings into its capital markets.

President Xi will visit Hong Kong for the 25th anniversary of the city’s handover to mainland China, marking his first known visit outside the mainland since January 2020 after the COVID-19 outbreak, state news agency Xinhua reported.The Hang Seng Tech Index soared 5.7%, with index heavyweights Alibaba, Tencent and Meituan up between 4% and 6%.

China's financial hub of Shanghai said on Sunday it would lock down the city in two stages to carry out COVID-19 testing over a nine-day period, after it reported a new daily record for asymptomatic infections.To get more news about shanghai covid cases, you can visit shine news official website.

Authorities said they would divide Shanghai into two for the exercise, using the Huangpu River that passes through the city as a guide. Districts to the east of the river, and some to its west, will be locked down and tested between March 28 and April 1. The remaining areas will be locked down and tested between April 1 and 5.

Public transport, including ride-hailing services, in these areas will be suspended when they are locked down, the city government said on its official WeChat account, adding that unapproved vehicles will not be allowed on the roads.

It also said that all firms and factories will suspend manufacturing or work remotely during the lockdown, apart from those involved in offering public services or supplying food."The public is asked to support, understand and co-operate with the city's epidemic prevention and control work, and participate in nucleic acid testing in an orderly manner," the government said in a statement.

Shanghai has battled a new COVID-19 surge for nearly a month and Saturday it reported its highest daily number of cases since the initial outbreak in China receded. The city recorded 2,631 new asymptomatic cases, which accounted for nearly 60 per cent of China's total new asymptomatic cases that day, plus 47 new cases with symptoms.

While the number of cases in Shanghai remains modest by global standards, the city of 26 million people has become a testing ground for China's "zero-COVID" strategy as it tries to bring the highly infectious Omicron variant under control.Shanghai authorities have previously resisted a broad lockdown of the city to avoid destabilizing its economy and opted for a more bespoke "slicing and gridding" approach, which involves screening neighbourhoods one by one.

The city houses factories belonging to the likes of Tesla , Volkswagen and the country's largest chipmaker SMIC, as well as the mainland China headquarters of many international companies.Over 14 million Shanghai residents have taken antigen tests, the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission said on Sunday.

But some residents have grumbled about seemingly endless cycles of testing and the piecemeal approach to ending transmission chains, with some saying the cost of zero-COVID had become too high.Earlier this month, in footage shared on social media, a crowd of people in the northeastern city of Shenyang banged against the windows of a clothing market as they shouted in frustration at yet another round of COVID-19 tests.

China reported a total of 4,448 new asymptomatic infections on March 26, up from 4,430 a day earlier, including 1,007 new cases in the northeastern province of Jilin, currently under lockdown.The country reported 1,254 new confirmed cases with symptoms, down from 1,335 a day earlier. Of the new cases, 1,217 were locally transmitted, versus 1,280 a day earlier.

Shanghai Lifts Lockdown from June 1, 50 New Support Measures for Businesses

Update: On June 10, 2022, the Shanghai Municipal Tax Service released the Guidelines on the Implementation of Tax Policies, as a supporting document to the Action Plan of Shanghai for Accelerating Economic Recovery and Revitalization. Divided into seven parts, with each part containing Content of Policy, Policy Documents, Ways of Application, Paths of Handing, and Policy Questions and Answers for taxpayer’s easy access, the document clarified that the tax declaration periods would be extended, property tax and urban land use tax would be waived or reduced for enterprises in difficulty, refunds of excess input VAT credits would be expanded, VAT would be exempted for express delivery services, export tax rebates would be supported for foreign trade, taxes on the purchase of selected passenger vehicles would be reduced on a time-limited basis, and preferential tax policy would be implemented to encourage college graduates to get a job or start a business.To get more shanghai stock market news, you can visit shine news official website.

After a nearly two-month lockdown, Shanghai is ramping up new supportive measures to reboot its economy. On May 29, 2022, the Shanghai Municipal Government released its Action Plan of Shanghai for Accelerating Economic Recovery and Revitalization (Action Plan), which provides 50 measures in eight areas.

According to the Action Plan, Shanghai will abolish the approval system for enterprises to resume work and production starting from June 1, 2022. A series of policies to stabilize foreign investment, promote consumption, and increase investment have been proposed. In addition, employers that have been impacted by the COVID-19 containment measures can apply for deferred payment of housing provident funds. The deferral period is from April to December 2022, after which the payments must be made. During this period, employees who have already made payments and deposits can withdraw payments and apply for housing provident fund loans as normal and will not be impacted by the deferral of payments.

People who have made deposits and have been impacted by the pandemic and cannot repay the housing provident loan as normal will not be subject to overdue fees, nor will this be included in their credit record. In addition, the withdrawal limit for employees who apply to withdraw housing provident funds to pay rent has been raised from RMB 2,500 (US$375) to RMB 3,000 (US$450) per household (including single-person households).

Finally, the deadline for taxpayers who file monthly and quarterly tax returns has been pushed back to June 30. The deadline for paying 2021 corporate income tax (CIT) has also been extended to June 30. Taxpayers who still have difficulties settling the tax liabilities at this time can either apply for an extension of filing declaration or a deferral of tax payment for up to three months to the tax authorities.

Micro and small-sized enterprises (MSEs) and sole proprietorships that engage in production and business activities and rent state-owned property have previously been exempted from rent payments for a period of up to six months, without requiring them to provide proof of having been impacted by the pandemic.

Subletters do not have the right to the rent exemption and the property owners are required to ensure that the rent exemption is extended to the primary lessee only.

Non-state-owned property owners will also be encouraged to reduce rent for MSEs and sole proprietorships that lease their property for business. Certain eligible companies that reduce rent for these businesses can get a subsidy of 30 percent of the total rent waived, capped at RMB 3 million (US$450,220), although the final amount will be controlled in accordance with local government budgets. Non-resident users of utilities are eligible for up to 10 percent subsidies for water (including sewage treatment), electricity, and natural gas (except for gas used by gas-fired power generation companies). In addition, non-resident users will not have these utilities cut off if they fail to pay the fees in time during the COVID-19 containment period and will not be subject to any penalties. In addition, non-resident users will be exempted from over-quota and progressive water charges in 2022.

Shanghai neighborhoods return to lockdown a day after restrictions eased

Multiple neighborhoods in Shanghai were placed back under lockdown only a day after city-wide restrictions were lifted, as China's stringent zero-Covid strategy continues to haunt the financial hub.To get more news about shanghai covid cases, you can visit shine news official website.

Shanghai lifted its two-month lockdown on Wednesday, allowing most of its 25 million residents to leave their communities. But nearly 2 million people were still confined to their homes in areas designated as "high risk" by the government.
At a news conference Thursday, Shanghai officials said seven new Covid cases were detected in the city's Jing'an and Pudong districts, resulting in four neighborhoods being swiftly sealed off and designated as "medium-risk areas" -- meaning residents will be confined to their homes for 14 days.
Their 26 close contacts and 106 secondary contacts had been placed in government quarantine, and more than 470,000 people had been tested, according to officials.
The reversion to lockdown is the latest reminder that despite the easing of restrictions, the government's zero-Covid policy -- comprised of mass testing, extensive quarantine and snap lockdowns -- will continue to dominate everyday life.
While Shanghai's businesses and shops were allowed to reopen and subway and buses resumed services, residents still need a negative Covid test taken within 72 hours to use public transport and enter public spaces.
The sense of joy and relief from the lifting of the lockdown among residents soon turned into mounting frustration as long lines formed at testing sites across the city throughout Wednesday and Thursday.
Some stretched for hundreds of meters in the blazing summer heat, and others lasted late into the night, according to videos posted by residents on social media. A testing site put up a notice warning residents the wait could take four and a half hours.
Shanghai officials on Thursday acknowledged and apologized for the long wait, citing a lack of resources and facilities -- despite authorities having built more than 10,000 testing sites and trained thousands of workers to swab throats.Some of the testing sites had not been put into operation, while others only opened for a short period of time in the day and were understaffed, officials said, vowing to improve the situation.
Many residents are still haunted by fears of a renewed lockdown. On Thursday morning, crowds were filmed fleeing from the International Finance Center mall in the Lujiazui financial district after it suddenly stopped people from entering or exiting -- a common practice at venues where positive cases are found, according to videos circulating on social media.
The mall later issued a notice saying it had reopened at 12.30 p.m. after carrying out a full disinfection, without confirming whether there had been a positive Covid case at the site.
Shanghai's poorly managed lockdown led to widespread food shortages and lack of access to medical care, causing an outpouring of anger and frustration among residents. But China's leader Xi Jinping has vowed to carry on with the zero-Covid policy, even as the rest of the world learns to live with the virus and move on from the pandemic.
On Thursday, the People's Daily -- the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece -- declared on its front page that "the battle to safeguard Shanghai has achieved major phased achievements" under the leadership of Xi.
"Shanghai is actively exploring new mechanisms for normalized prevention and control in the mega-city, and accelerating the return of economic and social development to the normal track," it said.