End is nigh for state's grip on funeral industry
Changes are in the pipeline to the mainland's massive funeral industry, aimed at giving private and overseas players a greater slice of the sector, which has largely been monopolised by the Ministry of Civil Affairs for half a century.
'It is possible that non-governmental sources will be allowed to enter the field in terms of investment and operation,' Zhang Shifeng , deputy director of the Ministry of Civil Affairs' Social Welfare and Social Affairs Department, said.
'Such reforms have already been carried out in a few cities across the nation.'
According to pilot regulations released yesterday by the Harbin municipal government, manufacturers will no longer have to apply to local civil affairs authorities for licences to produce funeral items such as ash urns, tombstones, wreaths and paper offerings. They would only need the production certificate issued by the local industry and commercial administration.
This year, manufacturers in Guangxi are producing offerings such as paper Viagra and concubines.
Mainland media last year ranked the funeral industry as the nation's third-most profitable, after the property and highway construction sectors, with turnover in 2003 exceeding 6 billion yuan.
