What is Chinese New Year and how will it affect your business?

Chinese New Year is coming up and it’s important to understand what that means for your business.

This holiday is celebrated by over 1.3 billion people worldwide and has a significant impact on the global economy. 

In this blog post, we will discuss what Chinese New Year is, how it will affect your business, and some tips on how to prepare for it.

When is Chinese New Year?

Chinese New Year is the biggest and most important holiday in China, Malaysia and Singapore. It’s also known as the Spring Festival because it marks the beginning of spring. The holiday is based on the Chinese lunar calendar, so the date changes every year.

The start of Lunar New Year in 2024 falls on February 10th.

The Chinese New Year holiday lasts for 15 days, and each day has its unique traditions.

How does Chinese New Year affect the economy?

As the most important holiday in the Chinese calendar, Chinese New Year is a time for family reunions, gift-giving, and feasting.

But it’s also a time when the economy slows down. Many businesses close for a week or more, and workers take time off to celebrate with their families. Factories in China may shut down during Chinese New Year, leading to shortages of goods and higher prices.

This can lead to a big impact on the economy, both in China and around the world. a decrease in productivity and an increase in absenteeism.

You might be interested in: CNH VS CNY: What you need to know about sending money to China

Chinese New Year Closure Dates 2024

This festive holiday is celebrated not just in China, but in other countries with Chinese populations such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia

To help you plan for the upcoming holiday, here are the closure dates for Chinese New Year 2024:

*dates may vary.

** certain regions impacted

What does Chinese New Year mean for business?

Plan ahead and place your orders early

As any business owner knows, inventory is a crucial part of operations. Make sure to have enough stock on hand to meet customer demand, but not so much that it ties up valuable resources.

The Chinese New Year can be a particularly challenging time, as it affects supply chains around the world.

Many factories in China close for several weeks to celebrate the holiday, resulting in reduced production and delayed shipments. You may also find it difficult to get in touch with your contacts in China during this time.

To avoid disruption, it’s important to finalise and ship your orders early. Doing so can ensure that your business runs smoothly during and beyond this busy time of year.

Clear your payments before the Chinese New Year

The long holiday period can be a real pain when it comes to processing payments.

This is because many banks close down for Chinese New Year and this makes it difficult to receive and make payments on time. This means managing cash flow can be a challenge.

The best way is to settle all payments before Chinese New Year, to avoid any potential problems with late payment fees.

If you want to keep cash flow problems to a minimum, you should communicate with suppliers and plan ahead.

P.S: According to Chinese New Year traditions, settling your debts before the new year will help bring you luck in the year to come.

Be prepared for more delays and disruptions after the Chinese New Year

After the hustle and bustle of the Chinese New Year, many people are looking forward to a return to normalcy. However, it looks like there may be more delays and disruptions in store.

Every year, millions of people travel back from their hometowns to the city or country where they work. This results in massive disruptions to the transportation system such as trains and buses being crammed full of people or even flight delays.

This means that people might be taking a much longer time to make their way back to their workplaces.

Expect an increase in absenteeism as people might be sick post-holiday.

All these factors could exacerbate workforce shortages that could take weeks or even months for companies and factories to get back up to speed.

You might also want to consider other alternatives to reduce the impact on your business.

As the old saying goes, the early bird gets the worm

The Chinese New Year period can be a daunting time for businesses, but by planning and being prepared for disruptions, you can minimize the impact on your operations.

Looking to do business in China?

With Instarem, you can now pay your Chinese suppliers, vendors or partners in their local currency at competitive rates, and without any extra paperwork so you save time and unnecessary hassle too.

The Instarem all-in-one platform allows you to consolidate all of your global payment operations for absolute convenience that also saves you time and money.

Sign up or login to your Instarem account. 

*Disclaimer: This article is intended for informational purposes only. All details are accurate at the time of publishing. Instarem has no affiliation or relationship with products or vendors mentioned.