Shenzhen Giveaways
disenfranchised but to its residents to ‘incentivize’ them to purchase certain items that the city government deems important to the economic health of its population. This is in addition to the many subsidy and tax-advantaged programs that the city sponsors to attract businesses, as it competes with other cities and regions in China, including a very public one announced last June that promised up to 40% of total investment cost paid (max. $47m/project) for any company willing to build out a satellite development project in the city, which came as a result of competitive offerings from Hong Kong, Macau, and other cities in Guangdong province that had positive results.
Such subsidies are well-known across China for businesses, but Shenzhen has also offered incentives and rebates to consumers for direct purchases, particularly a June 2020 program that paid each purchaser of an all-electric vehicle the sum of $2,974 (50% of that for hybrids), and that included 1 hour of free on-street parking for all electric vehicles purchased under the program. The program allowed non-residents to participate if they had a valid current resident permit including Chinese citizens living overseas and foreigners with valid visas.
Now Shenzhen is at it again, this time offering subsidies of up to 15% (maximum $300) on purchases of electronic products including smartphones, laptops, drones, wearables, fitness equipment, robots, and smart home appliances. That said, the list of eligible items does not include any foreign brands, with over 40% of the 8,249 items (multiple models) being from Shenzhen-based Huawei (pvt), and while that might only make a small dent in the CE product weakness seen across China, it is going to make some Shenzhen residents happy.
Such subsidies are well-known across China for businesses, but Shenzhen has also offered incentives and rebates to consumers for direct purchases, particularly a June 2020 program that paid each purchaser of an all-electric vehicle the sum of $2,974 (50% of that for hybrids), and that included 1 hour of free on-street parking for all electric vehicles purchased under the program. The program allowed non-residents to participate if they had a valid current resident permit including Chinese citizens living overseas and foreigners with valid visas.
Now Shenzhen is at it again, this time offering subsidies of up to 15% (maximum $300) on purchases of electronic products including smartphones, laptops, drones, wearables, fitness equipment, robots, and smart home appliances. That said, the list of eligible items does not include any foreign brands, with over 40% of the 8,249 items (multiple models) being from Shenzhen-based Huawei (pvt), and while that might only make a small dent in the CE product weakness seen across China, it is going to make some Shenzhen residents happy.
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