Guidelines for Developing Sports in China into RMB-5-trillion-per-annum

On the 20 October 2014, as part of its agenda for boosting employment, domestic consumption and other areas of the Chinese economy, China’s Cabinet, the State Council, issued new guidelines 《国务院关于加快发展体育产业促进体育消费的若干意见》 (国发〔2014〕46号) (the “Guidelines“) to enhance the country’s fast-growing sports industry. The Guidelines aim to grow output of China’s sports sector from 0.6% to 1% of its total GDP.

The Guidelines arrive as Beijing is competing with Almaty to host the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the International Olympic Committee is expected to choose the host city at its Session in Kuala Lumpur on 31 July 2015.

Following the release of the Guidelines, stock values of various sports-related companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange closed up significantly today.

Please find below a summary of the Guidelines:-

New Goals

The State Council hopes that, by 2025, the Chinese sports sector will:-

• promote national health and fitness through various sports to see more than 500 million citizens regularly exercising;
• generate a sustainable national income of RMB 5 trillion (equivalent to approximately USD 815 billion) per annum;
• create an average area of sports grounds in the country that is beyond 2 m² per capita; and
• enable public sports services to be accessible to all of its population.