Shanghai enterprises go back to work

More than 70 percent of major enterprises in Shanghai have resumed operation in the past week after the novel coronavirus outbreak delayed production and services, the municipal government said on Friday.

Over 70 percent of industrial and commercial companies, surveyed by the city's economic and informatization commission, reported electric consumption reaching 10 kilovolt and beyond, a gauge used by local authorities to determine whether businesses have restarted.

From Feb 10 to 19, the percentage of key industrial enterprises resuming operations jumped from 40.2 percent to 72.6 percent, the commission's vice-director Zhang Jianming said at a news conference.

Among these, 95 percent of centrally administered State-owned enterprises reported restoration of work. Close to 70 percent of the city's 51,000 foreign companies reopened, while 93 percent of the 217 multinational corporations with headquarters in Shanghai resumed activities.

Companies located in key industrial parks have seen 80 percent of companies resume work, including all 22 key companies in Lingang Industrial Area.

Grand industrial projects are also accelerating toward a restart. Six out of the 20 major industrial projects under construction have resumed operations. Technology-intensive companies, from electric car maker Tesla to semiconductor manufacturer HLMC, have also resumed production.