To further enhance the transparency of foreign exchange administration policies, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has stepped up efforts to introduce legislations and streamline regulations in key areas since the very beginning of 2015. Legislations introduced involve centralized operation and management of foreign exchange funds by MNCs, administration of individuals' foreign exchange, receipts and payments of foreign currency banknotes by domestic institutions, funds management in cross-border issuance and sales of mainland and Hong Kong securities investment funds, engagement in the trading of domestic specified futures products by overseas trading participants and overseas brokers, exchange business by franchised institutions of domestic and foreign currency exchange for individuals through the internet, and foreign exchange account management for foreign central banks and similar institutions investing in inter-bank markets. Regulation streamlining is focused on nullifying or announcing ineffective some foreign exchange administration regulations that cannot adapt to the requirements for business development and reforms. To facilitate public enquiry and application, the SAFE then upgraded the Catalogue of Major Existing Laws and Regulations in Effect on Foreign Exchange Administration (Catalogue) and released it at its official website.

The upgraded Catalogue contains 222 policies and regulations on foreign exchange administration released as of December 31, 2015, which fall into 8 categories including general foreign exchange administration, foreign exchange administration under the current account, foreign exchange administration under the capital account, regulation of the foreign exchange business of financial institutions, the RMB exchange rate and the foreign exchange market, balance-of-payments and foreign exchange statistics, foreign exchange inspections and application of the laws and regulations, and the scientific administration of foreign exchange, and several sub-categories by specific business type. This is the sixth straight year that the SAFE has regularly updated and published the list of currently effective regulations.

The SAFE will make further efforts to build and improve a long-term mechanism for streamlining regulations, and sort out and update the Catalogue regularly to enhance policy transparency, facilitate banks, companies, and individuals to understand and apply foreign exchange administration regulations, promote law-based foreign exchange administration and support development of the real economy.