In China's largest city Shanghai, there is one private business
owner out of every 30 people of employable age, a recent survey
among Shanghai's working population has found.
The survey, conducted by the Shanghai municipal labor and social
security department, shows 3.1 percent of the 25,000 citizens
surveyed are operating their private business entities and hold
stakes.
Meanwhile, an additional 1.8 percent of the respondents said
they are making concrete preparations for a private business,
bringing the actual proportion of private entrepreneurs in the city
to 4.9 percent.
The percentage is higher than the 3.3 percent reported in Hong
Kong and 4.3 percent in Taiwan, but lags behind the southern
booming city Shenzhen, where 10.5 percent of the working population
are private business owners, said Sheng Zuhuan, a labor and social
security official.
The survey also found an impressive 13.1 percent of average
Shanghai people plan to start up their own businesses in the coming
year. The proportion is nearly 23 percent among the unemployed
respondents.
Men are more enthusiastic than women in starting up a business
and those between 35 and 44 years old are keenest entrepreneurs,
according to Sheng.
Most residents support enterprising endeavors and are tolerate
of abortive business attempts, too. About 84 percent of the parents
surveyed said they approve of their children's private business
plans and are ready to give a helping hand.
The respondents, aged between 16 and 64, were randomly picked by
the labor and social security department to fill out a
questionnaire.
Shanghai has been encouraging its unemployed population to start
up their own businesses since 1996, with tax exemption policies,
easier access to small loans and tailored logistic services for
their convenience. About 20.5 percent of the citizens have
benefited from the preferential treatment in the past decade.
(Xinhua News Agency November 6, 2005)