Fujian aims for better business climate

Fujian province will implement a flurry of measures to further enhance its business climate, local authorities said.

A recent government guideline said that the province will promote the latest version of the negative list for foreign investment issued by the central government and channel high-standard capitals to such sectors as aviation, public transportation, fuel and telecommunications.

The negative list specifies which economic activities are prohibited, while all others are allowed.

Fujian shall strengthen efforts to ensure fairness and justice in the bidding process, while ramping up financial support for private enterprises and small and micro businesses, the document said.

The scale of emergency funds of governments across the province shall be raised to more than 10 billion yuan ($1.48 billion), helping local businesses cope with different financing difficulties.

In a bid to create a level playing field for both domestic and foreign companies, an accountability mechanism for government officials will be put in place. Companies will be able to apply for compensation on the condition that their legitimate rights and interests are harmed because of changes on government plans and policies.

Fujian shall step up custom clearing facilitation and slash costs during the process.

The province aims to slash the average clearance time in half by the end of 2021, and implement the charges catalogue system to strictly prohibit extra charges in the process, said a government document issued in late 2018.

Meanwhile, Fujian is set to take solid steps to relieve burdens on private companies in particular with small and micro businesses, according to the guideline.

It will rev up support for start-ups by issuing one-time subsidies, building startup incubation bases and setting up startup funds.

More efforts shall also be made to promote the digitalization in processes including administrative approval and trademark registration.

The province will verify the minimum and upper limits of the social security payment base, so as to ensure that the social security payment burden of enterprises, especially small and micro enterprises, will be substantially decreased.