Chinese city hands out e-vouchers to boost epidemic-hit consumption

GUANGZHOU -- The southern Chinese city of Foshan has issued e-vouchers to boost consumption, following similar programs launched by several other Chinese cities to bail out the economy battered by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Starting from April, local residents and tourists can get the vouchers on Alibaba's online-payment service Alipay or an official application platform, and enjoy a cash rebate when making payments at offline shops.

The e-coupons worth 100 million yuan (about $14 million) will be handed out in four rounds. In the first round, 300,000 coupons worth 30 million yuan will be issued and can be spent in brick-and-mortar stores in sectors including catering and tourism across the city.

In early March, Chinese authorities released a guideline aimed at boosting consumption and unleashing the potential of the domestic market to cushion the blow of the ongoing epidemic on economic activities.

A number of Chinese cities have answered the call by rolling out voucher programs including Ningbo, Hangzhou, Jiaxing, all in Zhejiang Province, and Nanjing in Jiangsu Province.