Authorities to monitor prices after school snack shop rent reaches record high

Authorities in Huaiji county, Guangdong province, said they will closely monitor the operation and prices in a school snack shop after the rent for the shop reached 9.43 million yuan ($1.29 million) over five years in an open bidding.

The 150-square-meter snack shop belongs to Huaiji Middle School, which is located in the bustling center of the county. The final lease price of 9.43 million yuan for five years was determined through an online electronic bidding process on Aug 15.

A total of 34 entities participated in the bidding and the price was reached after 2,274 rounds of bidding. All the rental income from the store will be turned over to the county finance department.

The high rent has sparked a lot of attention, with netizens curious as to why the rent was so high. Some expressed concerns about whether the prices of the products sold in the store would be reasonable.

The Huaiji county education bureau told Jimu News on Monday that they were not involved in the bidding process. The snack shop is managed by the local State-owned assets supervision and administration commission.

However, the bureau said they will pay attention to the high rent and will focus on the prices of the products in the shop after school begins.

The county's market supervision, State-owned assets supervision and administration commission and other departments will also strengthen management of the store.

The allowed range of products for the snack shop includes daily necessities, stationery, sports equipment, beverages, snacks, fruits, pastries, as well as services for student mobile phone charging and mobile phone card recharging.

Huaiji Middle School currently has over 8,300 students and 600 staff members.