(Fighting New Crown Pneumonia) Fidelity International: Initial Recovery in Chinese Consumption after Epidemic

China News Agency, Beijing, March 31 (Xia Bin), Ned Salter, head of global research at Fidelity International Equities, told China News Agency on the 31st that China ’s current overall consumer spending is picking up, Consumers are beginning to resurface, and restaurants and shops are once again lively. "Although many people still wear masks, their outings have signaled a recovery into the world's largest consumer market."

Ned said that as the first country that has initially controlled the spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, China's recovery in consumption to some extent heralded what might happen when the epidemic peaked and then gradually subsided around the world.

From the perspective of the restaurant industry, Ned said that according to the information collected from the industry, it is estimated that more than half of the restaurants in major cities in China have been reopened, but many of them still have shorter operating hours than normal operations. Because many consumers prefer to take out to reduce the risk of being infected with a virus, fast food chains are generally better than high-end restaurants.

"As for large restaurants, our research shows that the daily turnover of most large restaurants is still 40% to 50% lower than before the outbreak. The turnover may still take several months to fully recover. At present, consumers are controlling the outbreak. Confidence is still fragile, "Ned said.

Speaking of the Chinese retail market, Ned sees signs of recovery. "Under the dominance of young people, shopping malls across China are gradually recovering. We estimate that more than 80% of stores have resumed operations, but average daily sales of stores have fallen by about 40% compared to March 2019 levels."

Ned also specifically mentioned the surge in supermarket business. He pointed out that due to the people's reserve of necessities, the chain supermarket's business surged throughout the season, becoming a "big winner" since the outbreak. "Under the epidemic, the non-essentials industry has been greatly affected. Although the industry has become normal, it still takes time to dilute the psychological impact of the epidemic on Chinese consumers." (End)