Chinese city offers firms 6-figure subsidies to keep fires burning for Lunar New Year holiday
- Dongguan, a major exporting hub in China’s south, is offering up to 600,000 yuan (US$84,289) for manufacturers to remain open during the long holiday
- Move is seen as an effort to spur activity and begin the year strongly after a troubled economic recovery in 2023
China’s southern export hub of Dongguan has announced it would issue sizeable subsidies to local enterprises over the coming two months to maintain stable production over the course of a long holiday period, mitigating disruptions and ensuring a robust start to the year.
The city will offer subsidies of up to 600,000 yuan (US$84,289) each to manufacturers that maintain full-scale production for the whole of February, according to a 14-point plan released by its development and reform bureau last week.
The city government will organise trains or buses to pick up incoming migrant workers, and extend consumption vouchers to encourage them to stay for the holiday.
Manufacturers will also be eligible to receive 1,000 yuan per person for each new recruit from outside the city, with the cap on this benefit set at 300,000 yuan for each enterprise.
“[These measures] are designed to further support enterprises to stabilise industrial production during the Lunar New Year, and to promote the city’s stable economic start and sound growth momentum,” the bureau said.
If manufacturers … can get sufficient orders to generate labour demand, this policy will achieve better results
