More than 80 per- cent of China’s registered enterprises were small and micro-businesses by the end of July， said a senior official on Saturday. The number of small and micro-sized businesses stood at 73.28 million at the end of July， among which 23.28 million were enterprises and 50 million were individual businesses， said Zhang Mao， head of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. Small and microbusinesses have become a major force in Chinese market， contributing greatly to employment， said Zhang， adding authorities will provide a business-directory for small and micro-businesses.Meanwhile， authorities will improve information services for these businesses to sharpen their competitive edge and cultivate their own brands， said Zhang.


　　The government will introduce reform measures to create a better environment for innovation and development， according to a decision at a State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang Wednesday. The decision was made after pilot reforms have seen some progress in improving both institutional and market environments for entrepreneurship and innovation， and participants to the meeting agreed that it is time to introduce them nationwide. To encourage innovation， support will increase for micro， small and medium-sized enterprises， especially to help them get financing， said a statement issued after the meeting. Stronger protection will be given to intellectual property rights （IPR） through the establishment of one-stop IPR service centers， it said.


　　China on Wednesday unveiled a new regulation on unlicensed businesses in a move to ease restrictions and encourage entrepreneurship and innovation. The regulation， effective from Oct 1， 2017， exempts licenses for people selling farm products and daily goods at sites and during time designated by governments at county or higher levels， and those using their skills to provide services that do not require approval ac-cording to the law. Authorities responsible for cracking down on unregistered businesses must avoid simply shutting them down. Instead， they should help businesses obtain licenses and certificates， according to the regulation. For uncertified businesses where there is no specific stipulation on the level of punishment， fines imposed on owners should be reduced and items necessary for such businesses must no longer be confiscated， it said.


　　The regulation also asks all authorities to perform their duties and improve regulation efficiency in the investigation and punishment of unregistered businesses. China has been working to streamline business registration procedures to create a more favorable business environment. A State Council meeting in April said that the government would cut red tape by integrating separate business licenses into one single license. Many more certificates linked to business registration will be merged into one business license， helping enterprises to open and thrive more quickly， according to a State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday. “We should focus on creating a globally competitive business environment and continuing business registration reform，” Li said. “It’s to reduce institutional costs for enterprises and cultivate an inclusive and fair playing field for mass entrepreneurship and innovation as more enterprises can be easily registered and flourish.” A guideline approved by the executive meeting said that as a significant measure to boost supply-side structural reform and administrative reforms， the consolidation will further transform governmental functions and unleash the benefits of reforms. The document requires integration， simplification and abolition of certificates as much as possible， with a handful of exceptions involving safety and security concerns. Any businessrelated certificates and licenses lacking a statutory foundation or a legal set of procedures will be canceled.
　　The guideline aims to boost interdepartmental sharing of enterprises’ basic information and credit data. Dupli- cation in submitting identical information will be avoided. Integration of the internet with governmental services will be further boosted to improve approval efficiency. Oversight will be strengthened and responsibilities will be clearly defined， while new supervisory procedures will be established emphasizing corporate credit ratings and systems. The guideline encourages local governments to explore new ways to boost their rankings for facilitating business in line with international benchmarks. The latest measures are a continuation of efforts in the past two years. Further consolidation was suggested in the Government Work Report that Li delivered in March.
　　While numerous certificates still exist， government departments need to “give up petty benefits for greater achievements by adding more water to nourish fish in the pond”， Li said， a metaphor for helping enterprises thrive with streamlined procedures. More than 3.59 million new market entities were registered in the first quarter of this year， an increase of 19.5 percent compared with the same period last year， according to the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. Among them were 1.25 million new enterprises， up by 18 percent. Li said implementation is the key. “To ease burdens for enterprises and for the sake of the people， governments at all levels should focus on improving services and strengthening compliance oversight with special focus on the last mile of service delivery，” he said. 　　Many more certificates linked to business registration will be merged into one business license， helping enterprises to open and thrive more quickly， according to a State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday.”We should focus on creating a globally competitive business environment and continuing business registration reform，” Li said. “It’s to reduce institutional costs for enterprises and cultivate an inclusive and fair playing field for mass entrepreneurship and innovation as more enterprises can be easily registered and flourish.” A guideline approved by the executive meeting said that as a significant measure to boost supply-side structural reform and administrative reforms， the consolidation will further transform governmental functions and unleash the benefits of reforms.
　　The document requires integration， simplification and abolition of certificates as much as possible， with a handful of exceptions involving safety and security concerns. Any business-related certificates and licenses lacking a statutory foundation or a legal set of procedures will be canceled. The guideline aims to boost interdepartmental sharing of enterprises’ basic information and credit data. Duplication in submitting identical information will be avoided. Integration of the internet with governmental services will be further boosted to improve approval efficiency. Oversight will be strengthened and responsibilities will be clearly defined， while new supervisory procedures will be established emphasizing corporate credit ratings and systems.


　　The guideline encourages local governments to explore new ways to boost their rankings for facilitating business in line with international benchmarks.The latest measures are a continuation of efforts in the past two years. Further con- solidation was suggested in the Government Work Report that Li delivered in March. While numerous certificates still exist， government departments need to “give up petty benefits for greater achievements by adding more water to nourish fish in the pond”， Li said， a metaphor for helping enterprises thrive with streamlined procedures. More than 3.59 million new market entities were registered in the first quarter of this year， an increase of 19.5 percent compared with the same period last year， according to the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. Among them were 1.25 million new enterprises， up by 18 percent. Li said implementation is the key. “To ease burdens for enterprises and for the sake of the people， governments at all levels should focus on improving services and strengthening compliance oversight with special focus on the last mile of service delivery，” he said.