Takeout sector

THE annual turnover of China’s takeout industry is expected to reach 603.5 billion yuan (US$86.07 billion) in 2019, said a report released by Meituan Research Institute and the China Hospitality Association.

With digitalization being one of the trends of China’s takeout business, a more mature and diversified service system has formed in the past five years, said Wang Puzhong, senior vice president of Meituan, one of China’s biggest takeout platform.

Illegal online platforms

THE police have cracked several cases of illegal online payments and busted several platforms engaged in the business, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

The platforms, unlicensed for payment services, were found setting up their own payment channels, receiving the money paid by customers to businesses, and later settling the accounts with businesses with service charges of around 1 percent on average, according to the ministry.

The platforms also became breeding grounds for gambling and pornographic material.

The ministry vowed to keep cracking down on such crimes and urged the public to better protect their personal information including bank account numbers and usernames.

Cold front

A COLD front will hit North China from yesterday to tomorrow, bringing strong gales and low temperatures, according to the National Meteorological Center (NMC).

Many of the country’s northern regions will see temperature drops of between 4 degrees Celsius to 8 degrees Celsius, the NMC said.