China will lower or waive employers' contribution to the old-age pension, unemployment and workplace safety insurance schemes to help them tide over the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Companies of all types in Hubei Province, the hardest-hit region, as well as micro, small and medium-sized enterprises elsewhere, will be eligible for a waiver of the above-mentioned contributions from February to June, said You Jun, Vice Minister of human resources and social security, at a news briefing on February 20.

Large companies will see their contributions halved from February to April.

The reduced contributions to social security premiums are expected to top 500 billion yuan ($71.4 billion), according to You.

Employers can also apply for deferring their payments to the housing provident fund due before the end of June, according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

Meanwhile, failure to repay housing provident fund loans by employees affected by the epidemic will not be taken as a default.