Baotou rolls out policies for epidemic-hit businesses

The city of Baotou – in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region – on Oct 31 introduced 11 policies to help with the development of medium, small and micro-sized enterprises that have been hit by the COVID-19 epidemic, according to local media reports.

Under the policies, large-scale commercial complexes with unified property rights, big shopping malls with an operating area of more than 10,000 square meters and the used car sector are being encouraged to reduce or exempt rents for the month of October for small, medium and micro tenants that have been greatly affected.

Appropriate financial subsidies will be given to leasing companies that have undertaken measures to reduce or exempt rents.

In addition to providing financial subsidies to qualified large shopping malls, the rent for October will be reduced or exempt for small and micro enterprises in the services industry and individual industrial and commercial households that rent State-owned houses, while the rent reduction and exemption will benefit the ultimate tenant.

During the epidemic, small and micro enterprises and self-employed industrial and commercial households can postpone their payments for water, electricity and gas fees generated by the production and operation of the businesses for three months.