CHINA. The huge success of Hainan province’s offshore duty free sector is set to spawn similar zones elsewhere in China, according to a report in respected state-controlled media China Daily.
China Daily said today that Qingdao, in China’s eastern Shandong province, is planning to set up more duty free stores.
The title quoted a 28 December report on news portal Jiemian.com citing Sun Zubin, Party Secretary of Qingdao Jiaodong Airport Economic Demonstration Zone. Sun said that the zone is planning a duty free mall for high-end international products, open to local residents to shop.
“Chinese consumers are expected to shop for more overseas high-end products at domestic duty free stores, thanks to the growing demand for such products and the ongoing restrictions on outbound travel, experts said,” reported China Daily.
“Indications that the duty free shopping sector in the country is ready to ride the trend are evident from the duty free outlet plans of various provinces and cities.”
Many analysts (and The Moodie Davitt Report) believe that China will aggressively step up the development of its ‘offshore’ duty free sector, both in Hainan province and in selected economic zones, to stimulate local consumption and economies and to repatriate overseas spending.
Qingdao Airport Economic Demonstration Zone, approved in October 2016, is an ambitious economic and infrastructure development project designed to create a world-class business zone anchored by aviation, hi-tech manufacturing, and high-level services. By 2025 the hi-tech, ecologically-driven smart airport will attain a throughput capacity of 35 million passengers and 500,000 tonnes of cargo.
The report said that Qingdao Cruise Terminal has also received indirect approval for duty free operations after it set up a joint venture with China Tourism Group Duty Free Corp (China Duty Free Group’s parent company) for the purpose.
Quoting a recent Bain & Co and Tmall Luxury Division report, China Daily said that Chinese consumers are most likely to remain cautious about international travel even after the pandemic ends. As a result, most luxury brands believe that domestic growth will likely continue in 2021 at about 30 percent, it said. The luxury market on the mainland grew by 48 percent to around CNY346 billion last year, according to Bain & Co.
Footnote: State-controlled China Daily is a much-respected platform for official Chinese opinion and information. Established in 1981 as the national English-language newspaper, it has developed into a multi-media information platform serving more than 200 million readers worldwide. The group plays an important role as a channel for information exchanges between China and the rest of the world.
