Bay area city Jiangmen, seeing importance of nighttime economy, launches campaign to drive consumption upgrade
- Jiangmen has launched a programme that runs up to late October to develop its nighttime economy and drive consumption upgrade
- The government is handing out 10 million yuan worth of vouchers and discount coupons and organising dozens of events and activities
The Jiangmen government’s recently launched campaign to develop its nighttime economy and stimulating growth affected by the coronavirus pandemic is a step in the right direction, say analysts but some residents say the programme falls short of expectations.
Jiangmen, a city of 4.63 million people in Guangdong province that is also part of Beijing’s Greater Bay Area development zone, launched the programme that runs up to late October to “develop its nighttime economy and drive consumption upgrade”, according to a notice on the government’s website.
The government is handing out over 10 million yuan (US$1.45 million) worth of vouchers and discount coupons and organising dozens of events and activities, such as food and barbecue festivals and live-stream shopping, to encourage residents to spend more on their evening out. Some 1,000 businesses have agreed to take part in the programme and the operating hours of commercial streets have also been extended.
“By organising this, the local government will be able to boost market confidence as well as grow the size of Jiangmen’s nighttime economy,” said Bryan Chan, executive director of advisory services for South China at Colliers International. However “a lot of people are still wary about going out to spend after the outbreak of the coronavirus,” said Chan.
China’s nighttime economy accounted for around 60 per cent of the country’s total retail sales in 2019, and could surpass 30 trillion yuan by the end of 2020, according to Chinese research firm iiMedia.