In Guangdong, consumer coupons rule

The city of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, began issuing its fourth round of shopping coupons on Saturday to encourage consumption.

Residents can make appointments online for more than 1 million consumption vouchers worth up to 1,000 yuan ($155) each and allocated by lottery before the end of the month, according to a statement from the city government over the weekend.

In addition to coupons for shopping, there are other for travel and other things, the statement said.

Previously, Guangzhou had rolled out a series of stimulus measures and promotions, including three rounds of government issued coupons, to help spur consumption and restore business vitality.

More than 4,000 companies in 11 districts of the city organized around 10,000 promotional events in May to promote the city's commerce, according to Lin Guoqiang, deputy director of the Guangzhou commerce bureau.

"Residents can now receive several thousand yuan in government subsidies if they buy a car," he said, adding that he believed Guangzhou's retail sales volume would continue to rebound in the coming months thanks to a series of concrete and effective measures.

"Major companies are providing warm and better services for consumers to meet their diverse needs," he said.

Guangzhou is not alone in issuing government shopping coupons to encourage consumption. Guangdong is the most populous province in China, with more than 118 million people.

In Chaozhou, in eastern Guangdong, the city government issued two rounds of shopping coupons worth 4 million yuan in May. A total of 13,031 coupons valued at more than 2.82 million have been used by local residents so far, the city government said.

Earlier this month, the Foshan commerce bureau issued more than 81 million shopping coupons to encourage residents to buy household appliances and building materials and to expand consumption in the catering industry. Foshan is a major household appliance and building materials production base in Guangdong.

Shenzhen and Zhongshan have issued special car shopping coupons to encourage local residents' car purchases, while Jiangmen issued special property coupons valued at 37 million yuan to help locals purchase property.

And Huizhou has issued more than 3 million yuan worth of cultural and tourism coupons to encourage consumption, local authorities said. The coupons will benefit local scenic spots, homestays and bookstores.

Dongguan also issued shopping coupons in May, valued at more than 30 million yuan to spur local consumption.