Guangzhou to end netbar moratorium

The authorities in Guangzhou will soon end their two-year moratorium on licensing new internet cafes, or netbars. Industry analysts have suggested that this could see the number of legal Internet cafes double over the next year. The municipal office of the Ministry of Culture froze all applications in March 2004 following the fire in a Beijing netbar that killed 25 people in 2002. Zhang Runhua, Deputy Director of Guangzhou's Bureau of Culture, has been reported to haved said that it could authorise 520 new Internet cafes before next year. Of these 364 will be individually operated while 156 will be part of national or provincial chains. Opening a netbar requires in initial investment of at least Rmb500,000 and a space of at least 200 square metres. The move is partly intended to put pressure on the large number of illegal operators working in the city arleady.

CMI - 22/8/06