China's biggest online travel agency Trip.com to pay employees US$137mil have kids

China’s birth rate last year fell to 6.77 births per 1,000 people, from 7.52 births in 2021, the lowest on record. - AFP

SHANGHAI (Reuters): Trip.com Group said on Friday (June 30) it would pay 50,000 yuan (US$6,897.69) to employees for each child they have starting July 1 - the first such initiative by a large private company in China as the country struggles with an ageing population.

The company, one of the world's largest online travel agencies, with 400 million users, said it would pay a parental cash subsidy of 10,000 yuan annually for five years for every child born to its employees worldwide. The programme will cost about 1 billion yuan (US$137 million), the company said.