The Authority of the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone on Tuesday rolled out 22 measures to help companies in the area lessen their burdens due to the pandemic and safeguard the stability of local industrial and supply chains.

According to the measures, the office rent costs for Qianhai-based companies will be significantly reduced. For small and micro enterprises, individual businesses and private non-enterprise units in the service industry leasing properties of the Qianhai authority and State-owned companies, the office rent from February to April will be waived and the rent from May to June will be reduced by 50 percent; Hong Kong-funded small and micro enterprises will be waived additional two months of rent and enjoy a 50-percent rent policy for three months when the rent-free period ends.

For owners of non-State-owned properties who waive or reduce rent for the above businesses, 15 percent of the waived or reduced rent will be reimbursed, and the subsidy is capped at 1 million yuan (US$157,301).

Retail and catering companies renting properties not owned by the Qianhai authority or the authority’s State-owned subsidiaries will be subsidized 20 percent of their office rent paid between February and April, which is capped at 200,000 yuan. Qianhai businesses that have no or very few layoffs will receive up to 150,000 yuan in subsidies, according to the number of employees for whom they had paid for unemployment insurance in April.

From March to June, if a small or micro-sized enterprise obtains or renews inclusive credit loans with a term of more than half a year from banks within the jurisdiction of Shenzhen, they will receive a subsidy worth up to three months’ interest payments, which is capped at 100,000 yuan.

In addition, five measures are related to optimzing business services. The companies’ needs and requests will be collected through an online platform, corporate credit can be restored for those affected by the pandemic, and the application time for favorable policies will be further compressed.