Shenzhen enterprises adapt to help fight epidemic

While enterprises are being paralyzed by the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus, some businesses in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, are being converted into helping to contain the contagion.

BYD, a leading automaker in China, now makes 5 million surgical masks every day. It shifted part of its production capacity to make masks one month ago.

On Sunday, BYD began to supply 15 million medical masks to Shenzhen in a bid to alleviate the local mask shortage. Before that, it had donated the first batch of masks to the front line of the war against the virus.

Bennis, a clothing company, shifted into protective clothing production in the wake of the outbreak, donating 30,000 items of protective clothing to civil servants in Shenzhen, who are filling the posts in jobs related to disease control and prevention in the city.

Although the catering business is seriously affected by the epidemic, some restaurants are resuming operations by means of takeout through e-commerce platforms.

Among them, some are innovating new business models. To adapt to the new circumstances, NongGengji, with 28 chain restaurants in Shenzhen and more than 1,300 idle employees, launched an app to provide cleaned and processed vegetables, which customers can directly cook. And it also promoted online educational cooking videos that help consumers cook like a chef, according to Feng Guohua, president of the company.

To date, more than 20 of its outlets have opened, and their profits have recovered to about 30 percent of that before the contagion.

To help enterprises overcome practical difficulties in resuming business, Shenzhen Smart Device Technology Co Ltd, a leading commercial display company, provides an AI temperature measurement solution, which enables employers to easily check on work attendance and monitor the temperatures of their employees.

As the country grapples with a shortage of medical and protective items and equipment to combat the virus, Shenzhen is taking concrete actions to encourage enterprises to fill the void. And local enterprises purchasing relevant production equipment from Feb 1 to March 31 can get subsidies from the government. The subsidy can reach 50 percent of their expenses for the equipment, and no more than 20 million yuan ($2.85 million) for each enterprise.