Market exit of enterprises made easier

Policy measures to help enterprises－especially small and medium-sized ones－exit a market and seek bankruptcy were recently discussed at a State Council executive meeting.

Chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, the Feb 3 meeting noted that mitigating companies' hurdles to exiting a market is an important measure to optimize the allocation of resources and the business environment.

The meeting asked authorities to make it more convenient for small and medium-sized enterprises to exit a market as easily as they had entered it and promote the improvement and dynamism of market entities.

The meeting called for speedier improvement of policies and pointed out that "survival of the fittest enterprises" is normal in a market economy.

It put forward key measures to help solve the difficulties enterprises face when they try to exit a market, including the need to improve and simplify the cancellation system for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Establishing a system to release information on an enterprise's pending bankruptcy and the status of its withdrawal from a market was called for at the meeting. Such information should also be included in an enterprise's publicly accessible credit information, it said.

The changes aim to improve the credibility of enterprises and promote fair competition.

Measures should be taken to standardize bankruptcy procedures in accordance with the law, the meeting said.

It is necessary to give full play to the coordinating and negotiating role of creditors' committees and meetings of bondholders, and to protect the rights and interests of workers, creditors and investors, the meeting said.

A crackdown on evasion and cancellation of debts during a bankruptcy or the withdrawal of an enterprise from the market, was also urged at the meeting.

Supervision of waste discharge goes online

Pollution permits for enterprises discharging waste can be applied for online, according to a regulation signed recently by Premier Li Keqiang.

The regulation on pollution discharge permits will come into effect on March 1, according to a State Council decree issued on Jan 29. The regulation was passed at the State Council executive meeting on Dec 9 and aims to better manage and control the pollution discharge of enterprises and public institutions.

According to the regulation, decisions on whether an application is accepted should be made public on the national permit management platform.
Departments in charge of permit approval can conduct on-site examination of polluters' production and operation facilities, and issue permits to those meeting requirements.

Polluters are required to conduct self-monitoring and keep their data for at least five years. They are also required to build a system to record environmental management, and those under major supervision should adopt automatic monitoring, the regulation said.

They should also submit reports on permit implementation and make it public on the national platform.

Management of the permits is based on the amount of pollutants produced and discharged and their impact on the environment. The State Council's ecology and environment protection departments will supervise and take charge of the national pollution permit system.

Ecology and environment protection authorities should strengthen supervision of the permits and frequently conduct inspections. Results of inspections and punishment notices should be put on the national platform.

A guide on feasible technologies to control pollution will be issued. The regulation also specified the violations and corresponding punishments.