
Photo: VCG
Shanghai’s municipal finance bureau said the city should prepare for a “tight budget” as it announced its lowest annual expected revenue growth in five years.
The municipal finance bureau set its general public finance revenues for 2019 at 746.5 billion yuan ($110.9 billion), up 5% compared to the figure for 2018. The government plans to spend 838.5 billion yuan, up 0.4% compared to the 2018 plan.
The city also plans to reduce technology expenses by 10%, but that may prove difficult, as it’s already promised to set up new funds in artificial intelligence and invest in the second phase of China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, a state-backed semiconductor fund for chip-related projects.
Shanghai predicts the 2019 municipal GDP growth rate will be between 6% and 6.5%, a figure slightly below 2018’s confirmed growth rate 6.6%, according to the government’s working report released by mayor Ying Yong.
As of Jan. 23, eight provincial-level regions including the capital city Beijing have predicted slower economic growth for 2019, as a series of the country’s key economic index figures appear to be undesirable.
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