Shanghai to crack down on delayed payment practices

Shanghai has pledged to step up policing its manufacturing sectors to curb prolonged payment cycles that affect thousands of supply-chain vendors, reports the South China Morning Post.

Gu Jun, deputy secretary general of the municipal government and director of the city’s development and reform commission, told a press conference that a task force had been set up to ensure money owed to vendors would be paid promptly.

Gu did not specify which companies would be targeted by the task force but said an information disclosure mechanism would be introduced to help supervise firms that fail to comply. Authorities could either force the companies to repay immediately or make their names public to safeguard the interests of small and medium-sized enterprises.