Jiangsu Province rolled out 30 reliefmeasures on September 7 to help businesses hit by the recent COVID-19 outbreak.

The measures aim to reduce the burden ofenterprises, maintain stable employment and ensure supply of goods related topeople's livelihoods.

The province makes it a priority toincrease fiscal and tax support, such as deferring tax treatment and grantingexemptions of property tax and urban land use tax in the third quarterforcompanies in accommodation, catering, cultural, sports, transportation andtourism industries in Nanjing. Business in the pandemic-hit Yangzhou Cityenjoyed more tax relief measures.

To further reduce taxes and fees, SMEsthat specialize in the service industry and lease the state-owned assets in theprovince will be exempted from rent for three months at most. Financialinstitutes should not limit, rescind or reduce loans to industries affectedconsiderably by the epidemic, such as wholesale and retail trade, accommodationand catering. Enterprises that have difficulty in making payment due may begranted extension or renewal.

Qian Dongping, deputy head of theprovince¡¯s Financial Supervision Administration, said banks in Yangzhou issuedloans totaling 7 billion yuan to 6,337 companies from August 1 to 22. Banksextend loans with a principal value of about 1.95 billion yuan and renewedloans of 412 million yuan.

Jiangsu will allocate 367 million yuanto support enterprises to implement vocational upskilling, with a prioritygiven to industries badly hit by the pandemic, such as accommodation, catering,wholesale and retail, cultural, tourism and transportation. The province¡¯ssubsidy of 1.84 billion yuan has benefited 2.87 million training opportunitiesso far this year.

According to the measures, Jiangsu alsoslashes social insurance contributions paid by enterprises in Nanjing andYangzhou.

The province will earmark 30 millionyuan from the business development funds to guarantee the supply of dailynecessities in the province, especially in areas hit hard by the pandemic,including 10 million yuan to Nanjing and 15 million yuan to Yangzhou.

In addition, 528 promotional events willbe held to stimulate consumption in key areas such as bulk commodity, cateringand rural areas. These events will take the form of online shopping festivals,an expo of time-honored brands in Jiangsu, and marketing efforts by e-commerceplatforms in the countryside.