Consumption vouchers issued to boost spending in China

CHENGDU - Local authorities in China have issued consumption vouchers to boost spending ahead of the country's National Day holiday, a major occasion for consumption.

On Thursday, the Sichuan provincial department of commerce announced that the province will pour more than 400 million yuan ($57 million) from its fiscal budget to issue the vouchers.

Among them, 300 million yuan will be earmarked in the home improvement sector, such as housing renovations, kitchen and bathroom products, smart home products and those for elderly-oriented modifications.

The vouchers will be distributed in three rounds starting from Thursday till the end of October, and consumers can use them online or offline, enjoying a discount of 600 yuan to 4,000 yuan based on the total amount spent.

Meanwhile, the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in July vowed reform measures to expand consumption.

In Shanghai, the municipal government's information office said on Wednesday the city will allocate 500 million yuan to issue consumption vouchers for the dining, accommodation, cinema and sports sectors.

Funds for the vouchers will be distributed based on each sector's consumption share and demand: 360 million yuan will go to the dining sector, 90 million yuan to accommodation, 30 million yuan to cinema, and 20 million yuan to sports. The first round of vouchers will be available from Sept. 28.

China will have a seven-day National Day holiday from Oct 1 to 7, with robust holiday spending expected.