Measures released to support individual businesses

Shanghai's market regulators, together with 13 departments and financial institutions, released a slew of measures on Tuesday to support the development of the city's 510,000 individual businesses.

Individual businesses in the city have been classified based on indexes such as registration, taxation and social insurance. Precise assistance will be available to promote their high-quality development, according to the Shanghai Administration for Market Regulation.

These supportive measures include tax reduction and exemption, access to services, community registration spots, flexible regulatory measures such as a "first-time violation exemption," credit repair mechanism, an inclusive and prudent development environment, as well as supporting insurance plans, the administration announced. A service month for individual businesses began on Tuesday.

As part of the plan, the administration signed a cooperation agreement with the Shanghai branch of the Bank of China. They will promote better financing products for individual businesses, optimize financial services for individual businesses, and promote categorized and precise assistance to individual businesses.

The latter will launch an exclusive loan to individual businesses to meet their operating capital turnover needs. The maximum credit available is 500,000 yuan (US$70,236) and an annual interest rate as low as 2.95 to 3.35 percent.

Four individual businesses signed a loan agreement on Tuesday.

Chen Qi is the operator of Minhang Lingzhu Bamboo Warehouse in Qibao Ancient Town. The bamboo plaiting crafts he has mastered is listed as an intangible cultural heritage. Funding is a struggle as his business develops.

After learning about Chen's difficulties, local market regulators delivered a supporting hand. Chen will receive the loan due to their help.

"In the very beginning, business was sluggish and government authorities helped me establish relatively stable exhibition and sales channels," Chen said. "Now, with financial support, I am preparing to serve bamboo culture-related beverages in the store, carrying out mixed operations to meet market demand."

During the service month, the city will select a group of model individual businesses and recommended them to various trading exhibitions, guide them through trademark and patent applications, and invite them to participate in themed consumer activities such as the "Double Five Shopping Festival" and the Global Food Festival.

For time-honored brands and individual businesses run by inheritors of intangible cultural heritage, authorities will help them promote traditional handicrafts, accelerate the cultivation of inheritors, and step up protection of traditional skills.

For emerging businesses, government departments will actively guide the city's main e-commerce platforms to support their development by providing operational assistance, online operations training, and guiding the declaration of emerging industry intellectual property rights.