Business briefs from the Chinese media — Monday September 12

Freight shipping rates at lowest level since 2020: According to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, on September 9, the freight rate for exports from Shanghai Port to ports on the U.S. west coast was $3,484 per Forty-Foot-Equivalent-Unit (FEU) container, which is the lowest level since August 2020.

Over $3 billion in vehicle purchase tax reductions from June: According to the State Taxation Administration, from June to August this year, vehicle purchase tax reductions were applied to about 3.55 million vehicles, with a cumulative reduction of 23.04 billion yuan ($3.32 billion) in purchase taxes. On June 1, purchase taxes were halved for cars priced below 300,000 yuan ($43.278) and with 2.0-liter engines and smaller.

August was a good month for investment in consumer industries: According to the China Venture Capital Finance Organization, a total of 82 financing events occured in China in August, an increase of 17.14% from July, with a total investment of 4.76 billion yuan ($686.98 million), the highest value in the past four months. Popular areas included cross-border ecommerce, alcohol and beverages, smart home appliances, and VR/AR entertainment products.