SHANGHAI is expected to reduce costs and taxes of 40 billion yuan (US$5.8 billion) this year for businesses through measures such as abolishing some administrative fees and offering cheaper power, said Shanghai Vice Mayor Zhou Bo today in a media briefing.

The measures will take in place from tomorrow. They include the drop of 35 administrative fees, such as the money for construction and maintenance of river projects and environmental supervision, and the cut of prices for electricity and natural gas in industrial companies.

The government is also going to help enterprises lower operating costs by cutting taxes and fees, and will lower the proportion of social security funds paid by enterprises for their employees. For the medical insurance, the ratio will be reduced by 0.5 percentage points. For the unemployment insurance, the ratio will be cut by 0.5 percentage points during the period of the start of this year to April 30 of 2018.