City festival to boost online transactions

China’s first online transaction festival for industrial products is to open at the end of April.

Its aim is to clear blocks in an industrial supply chain disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and promote integrated development of manufacturing and Internet, as well as manufacturing and the producer service industry, the festival organizer said.

Guided by the Commission of Economy and Informatization and hosted by the Shanghai E-commerce Association, the festival aims to turn the city into the global center for online transactions of industrial products and a highland of the online economy.

The two-month festival is based on the platform csiof.cn. All buyers of industrial goods, sellers and service providers can do business virtually during the festival, when special sales or lowest prices will be available.

Unlike festivals targeted at customers, the organizer said, this one is for business dealers and is focused on industrial manufacturing industry.

More than 5,000 companies will participate in the festival, including state-owned enterprises such as Shanghai Electric, SAIC Motor, Shanghai Construction Group, centrally administered SOEs such as the China State Shipbuilding Corp Ltd and China Baowu Group, as well as small and medium-sized companies.

The transaction amount is expected to exceed 10 billion yuan (US$1.41 billion).

Fifteen banks, including the Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China and SPD Bank, will provide more than 20 billion yuan in credit for SMEs during the festival.

Service providers such as SF Express, Huawei Cloud and Douyin have all signed up for the festival. SF Express is give a 1 to 2.5 percent discount during the event.

The festival will also feature a series of activities such as brand weeks, forums and lectures on e-commerce and the online economy.