(Yicai Global) April 19 -- A number of companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Nasdaq-style Star Market have been named in a government white list of key enterprises that will be given precedence in the allocation of resources in order to swiftly resume production as the Covid-19 outbreak that paralyzed the city for almost a month comes under control.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has sent a team to Shanghai to promote the stable resumption of manufacturing in key fields such as chips, automobile and biomedicine. On the list of 666 prioritized firms are several companies listed on the Star Market, including Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment, ACM Research, Anji Microelectronics Technology, SICC, National Silicon Industry Group, Shanghai Junshi Biosciences, Shanghai Medicilon and Obio Technology, Yicai Global has learned.

Many of these have already introduced so-called closed-loop management, isolating workers at the plant so as to avoid a shut-down. However, insiders told Yicai Global that even if factories resort to closed-loop management, they can only manage low levels of production because of stoppages due to a lack of manpower and poor supply of raw materials.

Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment was one of the first to reopen. The first batch of products since the semiconductor equipment maker started operations again was thoroughly disinfected before being delivered to customers on April 11. “We aim to deliver all orders on time while strictly adhering to all Covid safety protocols,” a manager said.

Silicon Industry is actively communicating with clients and suppliers to ensure the supply of materials and is ready to reopen, a manager at the semiconductor wafer maker said. The firm is in close contact with the municipal government to ensure good living conditions for those workers staying at the factory.

The country’s cabinet ordered local governments last week to issue pass cards for key supply vehicles to ease the logistics bottleneck and for regional coordination mechanisms to be improved to allow the smooth flow of transport across key regions such as the Yangtze River Delta which encompasses Shanghai and parts of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces. A coordination platform to resolve supply chain issues has also been launched.

Another semiconductor gear manufacturer ACM Research manages employees’ commutes from their home to the factory in a closed-loop, a person in charge told Yicai Global. The municipal government has arranged passes for the company's shuttle buses.

"Our Shanghai plant is in closed-loop management and this will be adjusted according to the pandemic policy,” a representative from drugmaker Junshi said. “Our factory in Suzhou, eastern Jiangsu province is operating at full capacity to ensure the supply of drugs. We will work closely with distributors and logistics companies to ensure that patients can receive their medicines on time,” he added.

"We have also taken measures to ensure that research and development work is not interrupted,” he said. “Our four R&D centers in China and the US will take turns to work on different stages of projects under development.”

“We are mobilizing between 200 and 250 staff to return to the factory, and are waiting for approval," a manager at biopharmaceutical firm Obio Tech said. Staff working in closed-loop areas are tested with antigen tests twice a day and with nucleic acid tests once every two days to prevent the spread of the virus. There are still many staff who work remotely, he added.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor