A Lacesar Pizzaria staff-member, donning a mask, is seen working in its Shenzhen outlet. Photo: Courtesy of Lacesar Pizzaria

While people are wondering about the dampen state of the Chinese economy due to the COVID-19 outbreak, some industry observers are quite optimistic, as they believe the crisis will stimulate the creativity of the Chinese entrepreneurs and infuse fresh impetus. 

Jack Ma Yun, the founder of China's largest e-commerce platform Alibaba Group Holding, said the epidemic provides an opportunity for entrepreneurs to retool themselves and prepare for the growth.

To combat the epidemic, "you either try your best effort, or you fail," Yan Jiuyuan, CEO, also a senior industrial observer from Guangzhou Trigger Trend Data Service Ltd, Guangzhou-based consultancy, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

"Chinese top decision-makers have done a good job to guide the businesses to sustain production amid the epidemic," Yan said, noting that enterprises themselves need to figure out how to grasp the chance to retool. 

Lessons from Huawei's spirit

Lacesar Pizzaria's sales plummeted by 60 percent year-on-year during the epidemic, founder Chen Ning said, adding "is not a big loss" compared with its peers in the catering industry. 

Chen, the owner of the Shenzhen-based pizza chain with 140 branches across the country, told the Global Times over 30 percent of its peers have garnered zero income during this period, and about 60 percent incurred a 90-percent loss in sales.

Every day, take-away riders are still working outside to deliver food to customers, no matter it's windy or rainy. 

"My company should fulfill its social responsibility" by continuing to provide meals for citizens in the face of this crisis, especially to those working in social service institutions, including hospitals, noted Chen.

"When the Wenchuan earthquake took place in Sichuan Province in 2008, Huawei rushed there to provide communication services at the earliest. I would like to learn from Huawei's spirit, and keep serving my clients and the society during this unique time," Chen noted.

Chen and the company CEO decided not to draw their salaries during the virus outbreak. Mid-level and senior managers of the company are paid half of their salaries, and the remaining half will be paid after the epidemic.

The company's frontline staffers enjoy a 30 percent growth in their hourly wages. "I want my employees to feel that their hard work amid the epidemic deserves a reward," Chen said. 

Active and quick response

Yan agreed entrepreneurship is essential to stimulate business recovery. "Responsible and thoughtful owners have played an important role," Yan noted, adding that the sense of urgency will elicit a prompt response.  

Private firm Beijing Fenbilantian Technology Co that owns offline classrooms in more than 30 cities around the country, incurred a loss of 150 million yuan ($21.4 million) during the epidemic, as it has received and approved over 10,000 refund applications. 

Due to the convenience of the internet, they responded quickly. "Almost all of our over 700 teachers nationwide have turned to online teaching and tutoring work," the company's brand director, Li Yan, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

Meanwhile, the company's owner draws only 60 percent of his salary, to make up for the loss triggered by the coronavirus outbreak. Its management team of 10 persons is currently paid 80 percent of their salaries.

It also claimed zero layoffs during the epidemic. The company's over 100 teaching staffers in Central China's Hubei Province, the epicenter of the epidemic, are also working online. 

A Yiwu-based underwear manufacturing company that sells its products to Europe, the US, and other Southeast Asian countries, said they have taken self-help measures at the earliest. 

Orders from their overseas customers have declined significantly, said Nian Fusheng, human resource director of Zhejiang Huinongsi Knitting Underwear Co, located in Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang Province. "We are sorting out our inventory, and resuming production at the first time," Nian said.

Meanwhile, the company is sparing no effort to enroll workers via online and offline channels to deal with its labor shortage. According to Nian, Yiwu local authorities agreed to post the firm's recruitment notice on their official WeChat account and related website. The company made a short video to circulate among their relatives and friends on social platforms in the hope of recruiting more workers. 

A fenbi.com staff-member takes an online course at home in East China’s Shandong Province, during the epidemic outbreak. Photo: Courtesy of fenbi.com

Beneficial policies

From the central government to the local authorities, the country has left no stone unturned to support the businesses amid the outbreak of COVID-19. The policies include the central bank using monetary policy tools to infuse sufficient liquidity into the market. Besides, local governments rolled out a series of measures, covering taxation, social security, rent reduction, finance, etc.

For instance, as of February 18, banks in Shanghai have issued loans to 48 key enterprises totaling 1.31 billion yuan amid the epidemic outbreak, with a weighted average interest rate of 2.35 percent, a Shanghai government official said during Thursday's press conference.

Due to the labor shortage, some key companies aren't able to run the production line to a full scale, leading to losses in millions every day. 

"We have arranged a chartered flight to bring them back. The total cost was around 600,000 yuan, and expenses were borne by the local government," Xu Yu, staff-member from the Wuxing human resource and social security bureau in Zhejiang, told the Global Times on Thursday.

"So far over 90 percent of large scale enterprises in our district have resumed work. With the recently returned labor force, we expect these companies to resume 75 percent of their production by next Monday," Xu said. "It is expected that by the end of this month 15,000 employees will be recruited and returned."

All the enterprises interviewed by the Global Times said they are quite hopeful about the future. "As long as we can ensure the production quality, we are not afraid of losing customers," Nian from the underwear company said, adding that it could save at least 80,000 yuan from the government's preferential policy to halve cost on water and electricity.

Shenzhen local government exempted a part of local companies' electricity bill, which will save 400,000 yuan for Lacesar Pizzaria's 67 branches across this city. Local government also promised to provide interest subsidies for enterprises applying for bank loans, which may save the company 300,000 yuan, Chen said.