iStock Liang Tao, vice-chairman of China's Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, said the banking system has also set aside 537 billion yuan (76.8 billion USD) to provide credit support for local enterprises and government institutions to fight the epidemic.

Coronavirus Gives Billionaires Jitters; Bill Gates, Jack Ma Pledge Millions







Autoplay Autoplay 1 of 5 Coronavirus Scare As the spread of coronavirus continued unabated across China, claiming at last count, 490 lives, philanthropic celebrities and billionaire CEOs have helped authorities fight back. Here’s a look at the donations that have poured in. Bill And Melinda Gates Foundation The foundation started by the Microsoft co-founder and his wife committed $10 million in emergency funds and corresponding support. Jack Ma Pledges $14.5 million Alibaba co-founder and China’s richest man Jack Ma pledged $14.5 million to help fight the coronavirus outbreak. In addition, his Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has also offered to establish a 1 billion yuan ($145 million) fund and share its artificial intelligence expertise with researchers. Tencent Founder's Heartfelt Gesture Ma Huateng, also known as Pony Ma, the founder of Chinese tech giant Tencent that created WeChat and TikTok, donated 300 million yuan (about $42 million) to help ease the coronavirus situation in the worst-hit areas. WeChat is also working on maps that show locations of hospitals that are receiving patients in over 300 Chinese cities. François-Henri Pinault The Kering Group, the parent company of brands like Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Ulysse Nardin among others, will donate 7.5 million yuan ($1.08 million). Pinault is the chairman of the Kering Group. The funds are to be donated to the Red Cross Foundation in Hubei, and will be used to care for medical staff and patients at hospitals.

Beijing: Stepping up efforts to contain the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the country, China has begun to quarantine large quantity of bank notes in the affected areas and temporarily store some of it in warehouses to ensure that the disease does not spread through cash, a Chinese official said on Saturday.Fourteen-day quarantine has become a norm among people people showing symptoms of COVID-19 in China and many parts of the world since the virus started spreading.Experts have been asking people to frequently wash hands and face besides wearing masks as basic measure to prevent its spread.The death toll in the epidemic climbed to 1,523 with 143 new fatalities reported mostly from the worst-affected Hubei province, while the confirmed cases jumped to over 66,000, Chinese health officials said on Saturday.Fan Yifei, vice-governor of the People's Bank of China, said money supply in the country would be ensured, with four billion yuan (USD 572 million) in new bank notes already allocated to Hubei province, the epicentre of the virus, before the Spring Festival holiday.Fan said the central bank would temporarily store bank notes from major government institutes or state enterprises in warehouses to prevent the disease spreading through the handling of cash.Banks have also been told to sanitise notes before giving them to enterprises, Fan said.Fan said cash from hospitals and wet markets were being stored and bank notes and coins sanitised with UV light before they were released back into circulation, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Saturday.The movement of banknotes between major government institutions and enterprises has also been suspended in epidemic-hit areas in a bid to prevent the spread of the disease.Fan said the central bank has paid great attention to prevent the spread of the disease through the circulation of cash and would also encourage people to use online banking services, e-shopping and online utility payments.Fan said the bank was also ensuring stable operation of the financial system in China. Clearing companies and financial institutes were cutting handling fees for donations to charitable organisations, he said.The epidemic would not cause large-scale inflation in China as the government was managing cash flow and the supply of commodities, Fan said.Liang Tao, vice-chairman of China's Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission , said the banking system has also set aside 537 billion yuan (76.8 billion USD) to provide credit support for local enterprises and government institutions to fight the epidemic. Banks had also been told to postpone business loan repayments, the Post report said.