China’s Jiangxi province has announced a slew of measures for the stable development of its copper industry. The province is home to major copper producer Jiangxi Copper.
In a 16-point plan, the provincial government spelt out financial aid and fiscal support for the copper-based industry, which is adversely impacted by COVID-19. Jiangxi will arrange a CNY30mn special provincial fund for small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) in the copper sector. The province also plans to raise annual output by 1.5mn mt of refined copper and 3mn mt of copper.
Rebates
Enterprises selling secondary copper, copper products and alloys will qualify for 30pc immediate Vat refund policy. Income-tax for these producers would be calculated at 90pc of their income. Copper mined from depleting mines will enjoy a 30pc rebate in resource tax.
Fiscal support
Banking and financial institutions plan to provide a temporary deferment for principal and interest payments from Jan 25-June 30, 2020, especially for MSMEs. This is free of penalty interest.
Demand creation
The province will work towards accelerating construction of major projects with an investment of CNY100mn and introduce new projects with an investment of over CNY1bn.
Availability of raw material
Since 2019, China has restricted imports of scrap metal through the introduction of quotas. To help major copper producers avail sustained supply of raw material, the province plans to transfer import quotas of traders to qualified copper processing and utilisation enterprises.
Davis Index had earlier reported about Yunnan province in China incentivising companies to buy and store non-ferrous metals to reduce stockpiling and boost the economy.