CONSUMPTION COUPONS IN HANGZHOU: BOOSTING CONSUMPTION, OR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 SHANGHAI 000228 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/CM, DAS NORRIS TREASURY FOR OASIA/INA -- DOHNER/HAARSAGER/WINSHIP TREASURY FOR IMFP -- SOBEL/CUSHMAN USDOC FOR ITA DAS KASOFF, MELCHER, MAC/OCEA NSC FOR LOI, SHRIER STATE PASS CEA FOR BLOCK STATE PASS USTR FOR STRATFORD/WINTER/MCCARTIN/KATZ/MAIN STATE PASS CFTC FOR OIA/GORLICK E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV ECON EFIN SOCI CH SUBJECT: CONSUMPTION COUPONS IN HANGZHOU: BOOSTING CONSUMPTION, OR JUST BOOSTING LOCAL GOVERNMENT FISCAL WOES? ¶1. (SBU) Summary: One of few cities in China to issue its own consumption coupons, Hangzhou has taken the lead in local government efforts to boost consumption. The Hangzhou Government issued the first tranche of consumption coupons in mid-January 2009, followed by a second tranche in March 2009. The second tranche includes coupons for the purchase of daily goods, electronics, and household appliances as well as coupons for tourism sites and educational/training programs. The coupons also include an 18 percent subsidy for the purchase of select Hangzhou-made electronics and household appliances. Local government officials are mixed in their assessment of the program's impact on local consumption, though they hope the program can serve as a model for other cities in China. Our academic interlocutors are skeptical of the program's long-term benefits. Implementation appears to be inconsistent, as each store can choose which products to include in the program. Fraud does not appear to be a serious concern so far. The Hangzhou Party Secretary has taken an active interest in the program, according to an academic and media reports. End summary. Background: First Tranche -------------- ¶2. (U) In an effort to boost local consumption in Hangzhou (population 7.9 million; the capital of Zhejiang Province),the Hangzhou Finance Bureau issued its first tranche of consumption coupons in mid-January 2009. The coupons were given to retired, disabled, and low income residents as well as students for the purchase of groceries, household goods, electronics, and household appliances in 535 designated stores throughout Hangzhou. The coupons could also be used at designated tourist sites and entertainment venues, such as theaters, restaurants, and health clubs. Each qualifying resident was issued 200 RMB (USD 29) worth of coupons, which could be used between January 15 and April 30, 2009. The coupons came in 20 RMB (USD 2.90) denominations, with each coupon having an actual value of 5 percent above the face value for the purchase of goods. In other words, each 20 RMB coupon could actually purchase 21 RMB worth of goods. The 5 percent additional benefit was borne by the retailer while the face value of the coupon was financed by the local government. For designated Hangzhou-made electronics and household appliances, such as televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, and mobile phones, the coupons had an 18 percent additional benefit, meaning that each 20 RMB coupon could purchase 23.6 RMB worth of goods. Of the 18 percent benefit, 5 percent was borne by retailers and 13 percent by the local government. For tourist sites and entertainment venues, the coupons had a 20 percent additional benefit, meaning each 20 RMB coupon was worth 24 RMB, with half of the additional benefit financed by the local government. There was a total of 220 million RMB (USD 32.11 million) worth of coupons issued in the first tranche, 120 million RMB (USD 17.5 million) of which was financed by the city-wide Hangzhou Finance Bureau, 40 million RMB (USD 5.84 million) by the Yuhang district government (within Hangzhou),and 60 million RMB (USD 8.76 million) by the Xiaoshan district government (within Hangzhou). According to Wu Wenxing, Vice Director of the Hangzhou Finance Bureau, of the 120 million RMB (USD 17.5 million) in coupons issued by the Hangzhou Finance Bureau, 108 million RMB (USD 15.77 million) had been used by the time we met with Wu in Hangzhou on May 7. (Note: Our Hangzhou interlocutors were not sure how many of the coupons issued by Yuhang and Xiaoshan districts had been used, but said "most" of the coupons had probably been used. End note.) Second Tranche of Coupons -------------- ¶3. (U) The Hangzhou Finance Bureau issued a second tranche of consumption coupons in March 2009. The second tranche was expanded in both scope and scale, with five different categories differentiated by recipient and use, as explained to us by SHANGHAI 00000228 002 OF 005 officials from the Hangzhou Finance Bureau on May 7: --Government Consumption Coupon: The Hangzhou Finance Bureau financed 20 million RMB (USD 2.92 million) in coupons issued to retired, disabled, and low income residents as well as students. For the purchase of groceries, household goods, electronics, and household appliances in 2300 designated stores throughout Hangzhou between March 20, 2009 and June 30, 2009. The coupons can also be used at designated tourist sites and entertainment venues, including theaters, restaurants, and health clubs. Additional 5 percent, 18 percent, and 20 percent benefits are the same as those for the first tranche of coupons. --Social Consumption Coupon: 100 million RMB (USD 14.60 million) in coupons for individual purchase by any Hangzhou resident at Hangzhou banks. For the purchase of groceries, household goods, electronics, and household appliances in 2300 designated stores throughout Hangzhou between March 20, 2009 and June 30, 2009. The coupons can also be used at designated tourist sites and entertainment venues, including theaters, restaurants, and health clubs. Additional 5 percent, 18 percent, and 20 percent benefits are the same as those for the first tranche of coupons. --Transferable Consumption Coupon: The Hangzhou Finance Bureau provided a total of 480 million RMB (USD 70.07 million) in subsidies to local companies. The companies can use these funds to pay for their employees' social security or to invest in new technology to upgrade production. The Hangzhou Finance Bureau, however, has been "encouraging" companies to convert most of these funds into consumption coupons to be handed out to employees, said Shou Xuejun, Department Head of the Hangzhou Finance Bureau. The coupons can then be used for the purchase of groceries, household goods, electronics, and household appliances in 2300 designated stores throughout Hangzhou between March 20, 2009 and June 30, 2009. The coupons can also be used at designated tourist sites and entertainment venues, including theaters, restaurants, and health clubs. Additional 5 percent, 18 percent, and 20 percent benefits are the same as those for the first tranche of coupons. --Educational Training Consumption Coupon: A total of 150 million RMB (USD 21.90 million) in coupons financed by the Hangzhou Finance Bureau. The coupons are issued to students from poor families, new high school graduates, and unemployed persons for vocational and technical training. The coupons can be used between April 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010. --Tourism Consumption Coupon: A total of 250 million RMB (USD 36.50 million) in coupons issued by the Hangzhou Finance Bureau. These coupons can be used by anyone between March 1, 2009 and May 31, 2009 at 823 designated locations in Hangzhou, including tourist sites, restaurants and hotels. Though they are primarily targeted at non-Hangzhou residents, Hangzhou residents can also use them, according to Wang Xinzhang, Deputy Director of the Hangzhou Tourism Commission. Non-Hangzhou residents can obtain these coupons online or at Hangzhou banks and tourism agencies in other cities, including Shanghai, and there is no limit to the number of coupons per person. Each coupon has a face value of 10 RMB (USD 1.45),and one coupon can be used for every 40 RMB (USD 5.84) of consumption (i.e., every 40 RMB of consumption has a 25 percent subsidy, so one would only pay 30 RMB out of pocket for a purchase worth 40 RMB). (Note: Econoff and LES used a 10 RMB coupon to purchase 50 RMB worth of lattes at a Starbucks in Hangzhou, paying only 40 RMB out of pocket. A nearby Haagen-Dazs said it would also accept the tourism consumption coupons. A local businesswoman commented that the tourism coupons are "very convenient" since she can use them at many local restaurants. End note.) Of the 10 RMB subsidy, 5 RMB is financed by the Hangzhou Finance Bureau and the other 5 RMB by the vendor. SHANGHAI 00000228 003 OF 005 Criteria For Joining Program -------------- ¶4. (SBU) According to Shou Xuejun, the 2300 stores that accept the Government, Social, and Transferable coupons have to fulfill certain requirements to be included in the program, such as having no criminal record and signing an agreement to observe the rules of the program. Although these stores have to subsidize 5 percent of purchases, they feel it is worth it since it may attract more customers. Regarding the tourism coupons, Wang Xinzhang did not mention specific criteria but said that most economy class hotels in Hangzhou do not want to participate since the coupons would cut into their already low profit margins. Other vendors also do not want to join, said Wang, because of the paperwork they would need to file to get 5 RMB of every 10 RMB coupon reimbursed from the government. (Comment: Based on our discussions and general observations, Econoff did not detect any bias in the selection of stores for the program. It appears both Chinese and foreign-invested stores are eligible to participate. End comment.) Favoring Hangzhou-Made Products -------------- ¶5. (SBU) In terms of the products included in the program, Shou said there are generally no restrictions and that most, if not all, groceries, household goods, and appliances can be purchased using the coupons at designated stores. Certain Hangzhou-made products, however, receive favorable treatment in that the local government provides a 13 percent additional subsidy for the purchase of these products (the coupons will be valued at 18 percent above their face value, with the local government paying 13 percent and the retailer 5 percent, as opposed to only the 5 percent benefit provided by the retailer for other non Hangzhou- made products). Products in this category include Huaru refrigerators, Goldfish washing machines, Motorola mobile phones, and Panasonic washing machines. These are all Chinese or foreign-invested enterprises manufacturing in Hangzhou, and there are now 7 or 8 brands included in the program (up from 4 in the first tranche),according to Shou. (Note: See paragraph 9 for more on implementation of the program. End note.) Murky Results, Many Skeptics -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Shou Xuejun of the Hangzhou Finance Bureau said the goals of the program are to boost local consumption, strengthen consumer confidence, and show the public that the government is taking action to stimulate the local economy. Although the Hangzhou Finance Bureau's documents indicate that local consumption grew by 11.10 percent year-on-year in Q1 2009, Shou downplayed this figure and acknowledged that it is not clear what concrete impact the consumption coupons have had on the local economy. He said there is "no target figure," and that it is "difficult to measure the effects." Shou reminded us that the total 1 billion RMB (USD 146 million) in consumption coupons issued under the program is only a "small part" of the 160 billion RMB (USD 23.36 billion) in total annual consumption in Hangzhou. The main goal for now is to boost consumer confidence, Shou reiterated. ¶7. (SBU) Wang Xinzhang of the Hangzhou Tourism Commission said the tourism coupon's goals are to improve Hangzhou's competitiveness as a tourism destination and, by bringing in more tourists, boost local consumption. He was upbeat about the program's impact, citing a recent Ctrip (a popular Chinese travel website) survey ranking Hangzhou as the top city for tourism in China (Hangzhou was previously ranked 4 or 5). Wang said 82 percent of tourists in Hangzhou who used the tourism coupons said they visited Hangzhou because they received the coupons. Although Wang could not quantify the economic impact of the program, including if and by how much the number of SHANGHAI 00000228 004 OF 005 tourists had increased, he said that (as of our discussion on May 7) 684,000 RMB (USD 99,854) worth of tourism coupons had been used. This is a small number, admitted Wang, adding that coupons used during the holidays in early May (when many Chinese travel) had not been counted yet. ¶8. (SBU) Academic interlocutors were skeptical of the impact of the consumption coupons. Ding Jianping, Professor and Director of the Research Center for Modern Finance at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, believes that the coupons will only have a short-term impact and will not boost consumption in the long-run. Fan Xiaoping, Professor and Director of the EMBA Program at Zhejiang University who has been quoted in local media on the subject, told Econoff during a separate discussion on May 7 that it will take at least one or two years to analyze the impact of the program. He said that most of the Government, Social, and Transferable coupons are being used to purchase daily necessities that people would buy anyway, so the coupons will not necessarily boost new consumption. Though the headlines tout this as a 1 billion RMB (USD 146 million) program, Fan argued that much of the money being poured into the program is actually not new. The funding for the Education and Transferable coupons, he said, were already part of the original government budget. The Hangzhou Government provides education allowances and company subsidies every year, and it just repackaged these funds under the coupon program, he said. Fan's other concern is that by issuing coupons that can be used like cash, the Hangzhou Finance Bureau is becoming a de-facto bank issuing its own currency and creating market distortions. Nevertheless, the consumption coupons are a good start, said Fan, but in the long-run, the government has to think about how to change the people's mindset about consumption. "Chinese people have a lot of money in banks," said Fan, but they do not know how to spend it (aside from daily necessities) nor do they want to spend it given the economic downturn. Complex Rules, Inconsistent Implementation -------------- ¶9. (SBU) The program's complexity and implementation appear to be another problem. Econoff visited several stores in Hangzhou that have been designated to accept the coupons. At Trustmart, a foreign-invested megastore chain selling everything from food and clothes to electronic products, the cashiers told Econoff that they accept the Government, Social, and Transferable consumption coupons with the additional 5 percent benefit for all products in the store. They, however, were not familiar with the 18 percent benefit for Hangzhou-made products and referred us to a store manager. The store manager told Econoff that the store carries Hangzhou-made appliances, like Huaru and Goldfish, and that he is aware of the 18 percent rule. However, he said the store would not provide more than the 5 percent additional benefit since it is too "troublesome" ("mafan") to file the paperwork to get reimbursed the other 13 percent from the government. At a nearby Gome, a domestic electronics and household appliance chain, the manager said the store would accept the Government, Social, and Transferable coupons for only limited products and provide the 18 percent additional benefit for Hangzhou-made Panasonic washing machines (but not all Hangzhou-made products). They, however, would not even provide the 5 percent additional benefit for certain brands and products, such as Sony, Philips, Haier televisions, all mobile phones (including Motorola),and all computers. The manager explained that profit margins on these products were too low. At the entrance to the Gome store was a large poster, listing several dozen products that would not receive the 5 percent or 18 percent benefit with the coupons. Fraud Not a Serious Problem -------------- SHANGHAI 00000228 005.2 OF 005 ¶10. (SBU) Wu Wenxing and Shou Xuejun of the Hangzhou Finance Bureau said that fraud has not been a serious problem so far. Because of the short duration of the coupon program, counterfeiters have not had a strong incentive to produce fake coupons. However, some stores that have not been designated to take part in the program have recently started accepting the coupons. The owners of these stores accept the coupons at face value without providing the additional 5 percent or 18 percent benefit, and then use the coupons themselves in designated stores that provide the additional benefits, according to Shou. He added, however, that there have only been few cases of such abuse in the program. Hangzhou A Model for Others? -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Shou Xuejun said very few cities in China have implemented similar consumption coupon programs. He noted that Chengdu (capital of Sichuan Province) had issued 30 million RMB (USD 4.38 million) in consumption coupons in December 2008, with each member of poor households receiving 100 RMB (USD 14.60) in coupons. Wang Xinzhang mentioned that Nanjing (capital of Jiangsu Province) recently issued tourism coupons worth 20 million RMB (USD 2.92 million),but that these coupons were given to only Nanjing residents for use in rural districts of Nanjing. Shou said that officials from Qingdao (Shandong Province) and Shaoxing (Zhejiang Province) had recently visited Hangzhou to learn more about the city's consumption coupon program, but he was not sure whether these cities had implemented any program. Shou and Wu Wenxing expressed their hope that Hangzhou's program would serve as a model for other consumption-boosting programs throughout China. (Note: These discussions took place before the Chinese Central Government announced a plan on May 19 to provide 5 billion RMB (USD 730 million) and 2 billion RMB (USD 292 million) in subsidies for the replacement of cars and home appliances respectively, starting in select cities and provinces. End note.) Comment -------------- ¶12. (SBU) The Government and Transferable consumption coupons will not be continued beyond the second tranche, according to Wu and Shou, due to budgetary constraints. Hangzhou officials have yet to decide whether to continue issuing the other category coupons beyond the current tranche, though ones like the Social consumption coupons, whose costs are borne mainly by consumers themselves, have a chance of being continued. The officials instead are taking a wait and see approach. As noted by our interlocutors, it is difficult to gauge the success or failure of this program. The program does not appear to be significantly boosting sales of Hangzhou-made products, at least, as the local government has so far only paid out 1.2 million RMB (USD 175,000) for the 13 percent subsidy on these products. Like the scholars, the Hangzhou Finance Bureau officials themselves do not sound optimistic that the program would significantly boost local consumption. Rather, it appears they were placed under political pressure from Hangzhou's Party Secretary, who took a strong personal interest in this issue, according to Zhejiang University Professor Fan Xiaoping and local media reports.SCHUCHAT