Economy

China sets caps on purchases of subsidized home appliances

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-06-24 11:07

BEIJING - China's Ministry of Commerce announced Thursday it has revised with other government departments the home appliance replacement program to set caps on purchases.

The new amendment to the "old-for-new" subsidy program requires that an individual can only buy a maximum of 5 home appliances.

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The amendment also requires that a company purchase no more than 50 items eligible for subsidies.

China launched in June 1, 2009 the old-for-new home appliance pilot program in 9 cities and provinces including Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong.

Consumers can receive a subsidy worth 10 percent of the price of five kinds of new appliances, including televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, air-conditioners and computers.

As of May 31, a total of 14 million units of home appliances were sold in these regions, with retail sales reaching 54 billion yuan ($7.94 billion), according to data from the MOC.

The MOC announced on June 3 to further expand the program to a total of 28 cities and provinces between June 1, 2010 and December 31, 2011.