To give support to the development of foreign enterprises, the Zhejiang provincial finance department has earmarked Rmb63.3 million as special fund for helping these enterprises to sail through the severe winter. As exports in Shaoxing grew sharply in 2008, the city has become the largest beneficiary of this provincial support fund. It received Rmb14.5 million as support fund, accounting for 22.9% of the total and ranking first in the province.
Although Shaoxing's total foreign trade in the first 11 months in 2008 maintained a steady growth with a growth rate higher than the provincial average, hit by the international financial tsunami, its foreign trade declined sharply. In the month of November, total self-managed import-export, export and import of the city all experienced negative growth year-on-year.
It was the first time since 1999 when Shaoxing began to compile its customs statistics that the city had recorded year-on-year negative growth in self-managed import-export, export and import in a single month. It was also the first time in November last year that foreign trade export growth had registered a drop. In the past, November was the peak season for Shaoxing's foreign trade export, with the monthly export maintaining a relatively high growth. However, in November 2008, the monthly self-managed import-export, export and import across the country, in Zhejiang province and in the province's neighbouring cities all experienced negative growths year-on-year.
In order to help enterprises sail through the severe winter, the Zhejiang provincial finance office and provincial foreign economic and trade office have recently issued a joint circular on allocating a Rmb14.5 million foreign trade export incentive fund for 2008 to serve this purpose.
