Offshore duty-free sales in China's Hainan likely to double in 2021: official

BEIJING - Offshore duty-free sales in China's southern island province of Hainan are expected to double in 2021 for the second year in a row, as fine-tuned favorable policies continue to draw more consumers, an official said Monday.

The island's offshore duty-free sales are likely to exceed 60 billion yuan ($9.15 billion) in 2021, up from 30 billion yuan last year, which had doubled from 15 billion yuan in 2019, Shen Xiaoming, Party chief of Hainan, told a press conference.

Hainan has vowed to build itself into an international tourism consumption center. The province has increased the annual tax-free shopping quota per person from 30,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan starting from July 1, 2020.

The categories of duty-free goods have also been expanded from 38 to 45, with electronic products such as mobile phones and laptops added to the duty-free list.