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Recently, in order to actively carry out the work related to the pilot program of domestic securities investments by RMB qualified foreign institutional investors (hereinafter referred to as the “RQFII”), in accordance with the Measures for the Pilot Program of Domestic Securities Investments by Fund Management Companies and Securities Companies as RMB Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (Decree No. 76 of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the People’s Bank of China, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange) and the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Relevant Issues Concerning the Pilot Program of Domestic Securities Investments by Fund Management Companies and Securities Companies as RMB Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (HuiFa No.50 [2011]), the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) convened a meeting on the investment quota of qualified institutional investors in order to review such matters as the allocation of the quota of domestic securities investments by RQFII. The meeting discussed and adopted the basic principles for the allocation of the quota for domestic securities investments by RQFIIs, i.e., approximately equal allocations between fund-based and securities-based RQFIIs, and relative control of the scale of private equity products. This time, a total investment quota of RMB 10.7 billion for the RQFIIs (see the Annex) was approved for 10 RQFIIs that had submitted their complete application materials through the trustee banks. The SAFE will continue, in a timely manner, accepting applications for investment quotas submitted by qualified RQFIIs, and will examine and approve the applications in accordance with uniform rules and procedures. FILE: attachment：download 2012-03-26/en/2012/0326/1034.html
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In the first half of 2011 , the foreign exchange administrative departments and the public security organs worked closely to launch a series of special campaigns to crack down on illegal cross-border fund flows in Guangdong, Fujian, Shenzhen, and other provinces and cities, uncovering 10 cases of underground money shops and online speculation in foreign exchange involving a total amount of over RMB10 billion, destroying 16 illegal trading nests, arresting 37 foreign exchange criminal suspects, collecting cash equivalent to RMB5.3 million, freezing 200-odd bank cards and passbook accounts with capital equivalent to RMB13 million, and seizing a number of tools for committing crimes, such as cars and computers. These campaigns effectively cracked down on underground money shops and other foreign exchange-related illegal activities and played a significant role in containing irregular flows of cross-border funds and deterring inflows of “hot money.” During the next stage, based on the principle of “simultaneous dredging and blocking,” the SAFE will coordinate with the public security organs and other relevant departments to maintain the tough measures to combat the underground money shops and other crimes and to step up the extended checkup of the sources and directions of upstream and downstream funds to these shops so as to curb the space for such criminal activities. 2011-08-27/en/2011/0827/1012.html
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The branches and foreign exchange administrative departments of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) in all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government, the SAFE branches in Shenzhen, Dalian, Qingdao, Xiamen, and Ningbo, all Chinese-funded designated foreign exchange banks and the China Foreign Exchange Trade System: In the early morning of April 14, 2010, a severe earthquake hit Yushu county in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous prefecture of Qinghai province, which resulted in heavy casualties and huge property losses. To enhance policy support in terms of foreign exchange administration to fight the quake and to carry out relief work, this emergency circular is hereby promulgated as follows: I. The branches and foreign exchange administration departments under the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (hereinafter referred to as SAFE branches) shall make all-out efforts to fight the earthquake and to carry out relief work by implementing the overall requirements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council on fighting the earthquake and carrying out relief work and complying with the uniform planning of the Party Committees of the Peoples Bank of China in their respective localities. The chief persons-in-charge of the SAFE branches shall serve as the primary duty officers for fighting the earthquake and for carrying out the relief work, and they shall take full responsibility for implementing the relevant tasks within their jurisdictions. The job responsibility system for fighting the earthquake and carrying out relief work shall be implemented in all respects and at all levels. II. The SAFE branches shall establish Green Channels for fighting the quake, carrying out relief work, and implementing post-disaster reconstruction. All kinds of foreign exchange services work shall be earnestly fulfilled. 1. Efforts shall be made to facilitate timely provision of donations for fighting the earthquake and carrying out relief work. When receiving donations for disaster relief from overseas countries or regions, government departments above the county level (inclusive) in Qinghai province and legally-established domestic NGOs are allowed to complete the procedures for account entry and settlement of the foreign exchange funds (including foreign currencies in cash), provided that it is explicitly noted in the transaction remarks that the funds are to be used for fighting the earthquake and carrying out relief work, or that a written explanation is provided by the organizations that have received the fund. Nevertheless, the funds shall not be deposited in accounts other than the foreign exchange accounts for receiving donations. Foreign exchange funds in the foreign exchange accounts of domestic institutions or personal accounts under the current account can be transferred directly to the foreign exchange donation accounts for fighting the quake and carrying out relief work. If there is a need to settle the exchange before remitting the relevant funds to the foreign exchange donation accounts, the existing policies on the administration of foreign exchange accounts under the current account as well as on the personal foreign exchange accounts shall be implemented. During the disaster relief period, domestic enterprises registered in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture may, while receiving overseas foreign exchange donations for earthquake relief and post-disaster reconstruction for the affected enterprises, complete the procedures for account entry and settlement of the foreign exchange funds directly at the banks based on the validity of the application letters. With respect to overseas funds which are donated via domestic enterprises to domestic legally-established NGOs and are to be used for earthquake relief and post-disaster reconstruction in Yushu county, the domestic enterprises can proceed with the account entry formalities based on the validity of the donation agreement which specifies the purposes of the funds, and can transfer such funds to the relevant NGOs. The donated foreign exchange funds must be used for earthquake relief and post-disaster reconstruction work and conform to Chinese laws, regulations, and other relevant provisions. All donation recipients shall carefully keep proof of the expenditures of the foreign exchange donations for future inspection. 2. For the remittance of donations with the payee being domestic government departments or legally-established NGOs, the relevant procedures for the pre-settlement of exchange and remittances of funds can be handled by qualified overseas branches of the Bank of China, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and the China Construction Bank. 3. During the period for fighting the earthquake and carrying out relief work, banks are allowed to make statistical declarations of the balance of payments (hereinafter referred to as the declaration) for the quake-fighting and relief funds remitted from overseas countries or regions that have been received by government departments and NGOs, such as the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Head Office of the Red Cross Society of China, the China Charity Federation, the China Environmental Protection Foundation, the China Children and TeenagersFund, and the China Association for NGO Cooperation. The declaration banks shall transmit the relevant information in a timely manner to the local administrations of foreign exchange, and shall sign and keep in safety the declaration agreements with the aforementioned special entities prior to handling the relevant declarations. 4. The short-term external debt quotas shall be increased in an appropriate manner for Qinghai province in 2010. Chinese-funded enterprises within the jurisdiction of the Qinghai Provincial Government will be allowed to borrow short-term external debts within the ratified quotas. 5. After consultation with the China Foreign Exchange Trading System, it has been decided that all transactional terminal fees, transaction fees, and settlement fees arising from transactions on the inter-bank foreign exchange market for corporate financial institutions of Qinghai province will be exempted for the full amount for the year 2010. The foregoing temporary measures adopted during the period of fighting the earthquake and carrying out relief work shall remain in effect for one year. III. The SAFE branches shall, in compliance with overall planning, keep a close eye on the operational condition of the networks and foreign exchange business systems within their jurisdictions and enhance the monitoring of the networks and systems so as to ensure the stable operation of the networks and foreign exchange business systems as well as the smooth implementation of various business tasks. IV. The SAFE branches shall further enhance emergency duties and information submissions, carry out earnestly the 24-hour duty system, and ensure the smooth transmission of government orders. Information about fighting the earthquake and carrying out relief work shall be submitted uniformly to the General Affairs Department of the SAFE (duty room) and the relevant departments. V. The SAFE branches shall, in compliance with overall planning, carry out the Love Contribution donation activities in an orderly manner, vigorously support the post-disaster reconstruction of the quake-hit areas, fully carry forward the spirit of devoting collaborated efforts to assisting those suffering from disasters, and give strong support to reconstruction work through conscientious efforts. 2010-04-20/en/2010/0420/927.html
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A working conference of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), in conjunction with the national foreign exchange administration conference, was recently held in Kunming, Yunnan province. The conference studied and conveyed the gist of the results of Third Plenary Session of the Seventeenth Central Committee of the CPC, the Fourth Plenary Session of the Seventeenth Central Committee of the CPC, as well as the Central Economic Work Conference. The proceedings provided an overall summary of work related to foreign exchange administration in 2009 and set forth the tasks for foreign exchange administration in 2010 based on an in-depth analysis of current circumstances regarding the balance of payments and receipts and payments of foreign exchange. Yi Gang, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China and administrator of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), delivered a speech at the conference on foreign exchange administration work. Deng Xianhong, Fang Shangpu, Wang Xiaoyi, Li Chao, and other leaders of the SAFE, along with the relevant leaders of the divisions, overseas offices, and branches (foreign exchange administration departments) of the SAFE attended the conference. It was pointed out at the conference that in 2009, under the wise leadership of the Party Central Committee and the State Council and the precise guidance of the Party Committee of the PBOC, all foreign exchange administration departments carried out the scientific outlook on development in an all-around manner and earnestly implemented the overall planning of the Central Government on "Sustaining growth, accelerating restructuring, propelling reform, and improving the people's livelihood.In order to sustain the stable development of the foreign-related economy, efforts were made to adjust the direction and emphasis of foreign exchange administration in a timely manner by launching a series of measures to cope with the international financial crisis. The SAFE made efforts to further deepen the reform of the foreign exchange administration system, enhance the role of foreign exchange administration services to satisfy the needs of economic development, improve statistics and supervision of cross-border capital flows, guard against risks caused by abnormal cross-border capital flows, promote disclosure of information and government affairs, and increase the transparency of foreign exchange administration. Efforts were also made to improve the operation and management of foreign exchange reserves, to guarantee the security of foreign exchange reserve assets, and to obtain reasonable returns. All of these measures have played an active role in weathering the global financial crisis as well as in promoting the stable and rapid development of the national economy. It was emphasized at the conference that since the initiation of the reform and opening-up policy China has been active in becoming integrated in the economic globalization. Development of the foreign-related economy was achieved by leaps and bounds, along with a dramatic increase in cross-border foreign exchange receipts and payments. The constantly changing scale, frequency, and form of cross-border capital flows, rapid economic development, and increased opening to the outside world have presented increasing challenges to our countrys foreign exchange administration. Such circumstances require that the foreign exchange administration departments look at issues concerning Chinas economic and financial development from a global perspective, analyze Chinas foreign exchange administration within the framework of an open economy, and enhance the fundamental role of market forces in allocating foreign exchange resources. To this end, all personnel in the foreign exchange administration system should further carry out the scientific outlook on development, put into practice the gist of the contents of the Third Plenary Session of the Seventeenth Central Committee of the CPC, the Fourth Plenary Session of the Seventeenth Central Committee of the CPC, and the Central Economic Work Conference in an all-around manner, consolidate our conviction and work pragmatically to further strengthen and improve foreign exchange administration work, make great efforts to improve the status of the balance of payments, and promote a basic equilibrium in the balance of payments. These efforts should be conducted in compliance with the strategic planning of the Party Central Committee and the State Council to sustain the stable and rapid development of the national economy, so as to serve the comprehensive strategic aim of transforming the pattern of economic development and accelerating economic restructuring. The conference also studied and set the priorities for foreign exchange administration in 2010. These include: (1) Further emancipating our minds, upgrading concepts for foreign exchange administration, transforming administration methods, and enhancing a service consciousness; keeping risks controllable and as much as possible facilitating the operations of economic entities, gradually weakening ex-ante examination and approval, and strengthening ex-post monitoring and analysis; (2) complying with the overall requirements for economic development, further promoting the reforms on the verification of imports and exports, the development of the foreign exchange market, the administration of foreign exchange accounts, the diversification of channels for capital outflows and other key areas, and critical aspects of foreign exchange administration; (3) further improving supervision of abnormal cross-border fund flows, constructing a sound monitoring and warning system, an off-site inspection system, and an emergency management system, strengthening the monitoring and analysis of abnormal cross-border fund inflows and outflows, launching a special campaign to crack down on illegal activities by underground money shops, and preventing and diffusing the risks of cross-border capital flows; (4) boosting the integration of foreign exchange administration data with the administration system, promoting the comprehensive utilization of administration information, streamlining procedures for foreign exchange businesses, and improving the efficiency of monitoring and supervision and the service level; (5) constantly increasing the transparency of policies on foreign exchange administration, broadening the scope of release of statistical data on the balance of payments, reinforcing the integration of laws and regulations with respect to foreign exchange administration, and enhancing interactions and communications between the SAFE and the media and the general public; (6) further improving the foreign exchange reserves operation and management mechanism, enhancing the introduction and training of personnel, and striving to achieve security, and insure and increase the value of the foreign exchange reserve assets; (7) strengthening improvement of Party conduct, clean administration, and construction of the ranks of cadres, and enhancing the capability and level of administration according to the law. 2010-01-06/en/2010/0106/916.html
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Recently, a summary and commendation conference on struggling against illegal and criminal foreign exchange activities in 2009 was held by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) and the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) in Zhuhai city of Guangdong province. The conference summarized progress by the SAFE and the MPS in cracking down on illegal and criminal activities in foreign exchange transactions, such as underground money shops, online foreign exchange speculation, and so forth, commended advanced organizations and individuals that performed outstandingly in struggling against such illegal and criminal activities, and devised a plan for relevant work regarding cracking down on illegal and criminal foreign exchange activities in 2010. Deng Xianhong, deputy administrator of the SAFE and Han Hao, deputy director-general of the Economic Crimes Investigation Department of the MPS, attended the conference and delivered speeches. In recent years, the foreign exchange administration departments and public security organs in various regions have attached priority to efforts to crack down on underground money shops, online foreign exchange speculation, and other illegal and criminal activities involving foreign exchange transactions, and have launched a battery of special collaborative campaigns to combat the above activities by making full use of their respective roles and strengths. A series of significant cases were investigated, which considerably frightened criminals and preserved normal order in the states administration of financial and foreign exchange affairs. Statistics show that in 2009 the foreign exchange administration departments and public security organs in various regions successfully uncovered 11 cases of underground money shops, 8 cases of online foreign exchange speculation, 11 cases of illegal foreign exchange transactions, and ferreted out more than 51 nests of illegal foreign exchange transactions, involving a total amount of more than RMB30 billion. The conference commended 26 advanced organizations and 63 individuals that had exhibited outstanding performance in cracking down on illegal and criminal foreign exchange activities in 2009, such as underground money shops and online foreign exchange speculation, and called on other foreign exchange administration departments and public security organs in various regions to learn from them. Meanwhile, the conference noted that the commended organizations and individuals should guard against arrogance and in the future should try even harder to achieve new progress in struggling against underground money shops, online foreign exchange speculation, and other illegal and criminal foreign exchange activities. It was pointed out at the conference that at present there are considerable uncertainties regarding the recovery of the global economy and the Chinese economy still faces many difficulties and challenges for sound development. These challenges will expose China to a more complicated situation in terms of cross-border fund flows and will place greater pressures and require even greater responsibility to strengthen supervision of cross-border fund flows. It is particularly important that in 2010, as the growth of foreign trade exports is beginning to be restored and the pace of foreign direct investment is likely to accelerate, there will be an increasing likelihood that overseas short-term arbitrage funds will flow into China through various channels. All these factors will impose greater pressures on net inflows of foreign exchange. The conference made plans to continue the struggle against illegal and criminal activities in foreign exchange transactions in 2010. The foreign exchange administration departments and public security organs in various regions will be required to make the most of their respective roles and advantages and to follow tips about significant illegal and criminal cases regarding foreign exchange transactions in a timely manner. The SAFE and the MPS will provide guidance and supervision over key cases of illegal and criminal foreign exchange activities. The foreign exchange administration departments and public security organs in various regions will be required to collaborate with the relevant departments to simultaneously crack down on and prevent illegal activities, to cleanse the market environment, to launch focused rectification campaigns in areas and places within their respective jurisdictions with frequent occurrences of illegal and criminal foreign exchange transaction activities, and to limit the space for the propagation of underground money shops and other illegal and criminal foreign exchange activities. These administration departments and organs will be required to actively disseminate information about the dangers of illegal and criminal foreign exchange activities, such as underground money shops, via various media. and to appeal for efforts by the masses to carry out foreign exchange transactions via legal channels. It was emphasized at the conference that in 2010 the foreign exchange administration departments and public security organs in various regions should further raise awareness and enhance a sense of responsibility and urgency for cracking down on illegal and criminal foreign exchange activities, such as underground money shops, online foreign exchange speculation, and so forth, by making full use of the cooperative strengths of the various departments in an effort to maintain normal financial order and social stability of the state. Intensified efforts should be made to crack down on such illegal and criminal activities with the aim of making new contributions to the preservation of the economic and financial security of the state as well as building a harmonious society. 2010-02-12/en/2010/0212/919.html
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In order to harshly crack down on the inflow of "hot money" and other abnormal cross-border funds, as well as to preserve the economic and financial security of the nation, since February 2010 the SAFE has launched a special campaign in 13 provinces (municipalities) with a relatively large volume of foreign exchange business to deal with and combat the inflow of "hot money." Well-targeted efforts were made to investigate and punish the inflow of "hot money" by major entities through the main channels. So far the current phase of the work, i.e., field inspections, has wrapped up by following a specified plan of action. A number of typical cases and entities involved in illegal foreign exchange activities have been uncovered and confirmed, with satisfactory results reached for the current phase of the special campaign. During the special campaign, 3.47 million cases of cross-border foreign exchange transactions were examined through off-site inspections, involving a total of more than USD440 billion. So far 190 cases suspected of having violated foreign exchange regulations have been confirmed, involving a total amount of USD7.35 billion. Among these cases, 6 cases, involving more that USD27 million, have been closed. A number of other clues still need to be followed. Efforts have been made to further improve the inspection methods. In the off-site inspections during the early stage of the campaign in particular, comparison and analysis of supervisory data were conducted using electronic approaches to obtain relevant clues before further verifications were conducted in a well-targeted manner, thus ensuring smooth operations of trade and investment activities by most exchange-related entities. It is preliminarily indicated by the data obtained from the special campaign that cross-border capital flows and foreign exchange receipts and payments are on the whole legitimate and in compliance with the relevant regulations, and no massive and intentional inflow of "hot money" has been discovered. Much of the inflow of "hot money" in breach of the regulations tends to be disguised by many smaller deals characterized by multiple channels and gradual infiltration. The major channels mainly involve traditional fields of trade and investment, such as trade, trade in services, foreign direct investment, banking, and individual transactions. It was discovered that a few commercial banks fail to strictly abide by the relevant regulations, and in some cases even accommodate the operating entities to evade foreign exchange supervision. In terms of the fields to which the "hot money" is headed, some hot money becomes involved in financing activities beyond the scope of business, and some flows into lucrative fields such as the real estate sector either directly or in a roundabout manner. With regard to the next stage of the work, the SAFE will continue to inspect relevant clues for cases. Meanwhile, concentrated efforts will be made to ascertain cases in breach of the regulations, and to settle these cases in accordance with the law. As to new developments and problems surfacing during the inspections, proactive efforts will be made to enhance coordination with relevant departments so as to bring a supervisory synergy into full play and to enhance the relevance and effectiveness of the battle against the inflow of "hot money". 2010-05-25/en/2010/0525/931.html
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Recently, a meeting was held by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE). The meeting summarized the work regarding foreign exchange administration under the current account in 2009 and established the plan for foreign exchange administration under the current account in 2010. In 2009 the SAFE put into practice the scientific outlook on development in an all-round manner for the administration of foreign exchange under the current account. Great efforts were made to promote the facilitation of trade, to enhance the investigation, monitoring, and analysis of foreign exchange administration under the current account, to further improve the off-site supervision mechanism for foreign exchange administration under the current account, and to actively guard against the risks brought about by cross-border fund flows. A wide array of measures was launched to promote the facilitation of trade. For example, with the aim of easing the pressures on the working funds of export enterprises to better combat the international financial crisis, enterprises with financial pressures were allowed to conduct the foreign exchange settlement prior to the foreign exchange verification and examination in an effort to progressively increase the proportion of foreign exchange collection for the processing trade; efforts were made to further standardize the administration of submission of tax certificates for foreign exchange payments to foreign countries and to facilitate foreign exchange payments to foreign countries under trade in services by institutions and individuals. Measures were also launched to improve foreign exchange administration under the current account and conscientiously guard against the risks brought about by cross-border fund flows. Such measures include the enhancement of administration of spin-offs for the settlement and sale of foreign exchange, the standardization of foreign exchange settlement by individuals by holding cash in foreign currencies, the standardization of administration of foreign exchange by domestic institutions for donation purposes, and so forth. While facilitating the receipt and payment of foreign exchange for donation purposes, emphasis was placed on the prevention of cross-border flows of abnormal funds through donation channels. The meeting set out the plan for the major tasks regarding foreign exchange administration under the current account for 2010, placing an emphasis on six key areas: (1) to carry out the reform of the verification and writing-off of exchange payments for imports, with the aim of freeing the majority of enterprises that follow normal procedures from the verification and writing-off procedures for their exchange payments for imports; in the meantime, to proceed with the reform of the verification and writing-off system for exchange collection from exports, so as to further promote the facilitation of trade; (2) to carry out pilot operations for the deposit of exchange collections from exports in overseas countries and regions by giving a green light to overseas deposits and operation of a certain proportion or the full amount of foreign exchange collection from exports by domestic institutions, with the aim of increasing the efficiency of the use of funds by enterprises; (3) to proceed with the reform of the foreign exchange administration for trade in services; to enhance examination of the authenticity of foreign exchange inflows under trade in services and to standardize the administration of foreign exchange inflows under trade in services in parallel with efforts to further facilitate normal external payments under trade in services; (4) to study and promote the reform of the foreign exchange account administration, and to emphasize the acceleration of construction of relevant policies, regulations, and business systems; (5) to improve the administration of foreign exchange transactions by individuals, to improve the administration of the online inspection of foreign exchange collections and settlements from exports and the administration of transit trade and sales-after-imports businesses, in order to effectively guard against the risks brought by the inflow of abnormal cross-border funds; (6) to intensify efforts to explore and improve off-site supervision of foreign exchange fund flows, to give full play to the role of the rapid feedback mechanism for trade in goods, trade in services, and foreign exchange receipts and payments by individuals, to enhance statistical analysis and monitoring and early warning of foreign exchange fund flows, and to enhance the level of off-site supervision of foreign exchange administration under the current account. 2010-03-19/en/2010/0319/921.html
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Recently, Yi Gang, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and administrator of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), conducted a field survey in Zhongguancun with his entourage. Zhao Fengtong, member of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee, Liu Zhi, deputy secretary general of the Beijing Municipal Government, and Wang Hong, director- general of the Financial Work Bureau of Beijing Municipality, participated in the survey. Yi Gang conducted the field survey in some enterprises in Zhongguancun and held informal discussions with relevant persons-in-change from the Zhongguancun Management Committee and representatives from Zhongguancun enterprises. Guo Hong, director of the Zhongguancun Management Committee, presented an overview of progress in constructing a national independent innovation demonstration zone in Zhongguancun, and proposed policy recommendations on foreign exchange administration, based on the development situation in Zhongguancun. In 2009, the State Council approved construction of a national independent innovation demonstration zone in Zhongguancun, said Zhao Fengtong. Meanwhile, a number of pilot policy measures were specified for Zhongguancun's development in terms of equity incentives, technological and financial innovations, and so forth. The development of Zhongguancun has received vigorous support from the foreign exchange administration departments for a long time. It is hoped that Zhongguancun will continue to serve as a test field site for foreign exchange administration to support innovative development, and will be allowed to carry out trial operations in the area of foreign exchange administration so as to effectively explore its demonstrative role for other regions nationwide. Yi Gang expressed congratulations to the Zhongguancun Management Committee for the impressive achievements made in Zhongguancun. He pointed out that armed with effective mechanisms, efficient systems, a tremendous talent pool, and technological advantages Zhongguancun will be able to serve as an important source for national development and innovation. The foreign exchange administration departments will continue to provide vigorous support to Zhongguancun. Yi Gang gave a briefing on the current foreign exchange situation and said that the SAFE will earnestly investigate problems raised by enterprises during this survey and will provide differentiated solutions to address the various issues. In addition to safeguarding the security of the macro-economy and the financial stability of the nation, said the Administrator, based on the actual needs of economic development, the SAFE will constantly reform its mechanisms and systems, innovate administration methods, improve administration approaches, make great efforts to promote the facilitation of trade and investment, and play a greater role to meet the needs of national economic development. 2010-06-01/en/2010/0601/932.html
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Recently, a meeting was held by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) to plan for the administration of foreign exchange under the capital account in 2010. Li Chao, deputy administrator of the SAFE, attended the meeting and delivered a speech. Li Chao pointed out that in 2009, in the face of the complex economic and financial situations both at home and abroad, the SAFE conscientiously put into practice the scientific outlook on development for the administration of foreign exchange under the capital account. In compliance with the overall planning for sustaining growth, preventing risks, and promoting an equilibrium in the balance of paymentsfor foreign exchange administration, constant efforts were made to enhance the level of foreign exchange services and administration, to build a two-way mechanism for cross-border capital flows, to improve the statistical monitoring of cross-border capital flows, and to enhance policy research for future implementation. These played an important role in coping with the international financial crisis and promoting the equilibrium in the balance of payments. According to Li Chao, in 2010 the foreign exchange administration departments should focus their efforts on the five transformationsfor the administration of foreign exchange under the capital account. Equal emphasis should be placed on the reform of administration and the monitoring of capital flows. With respect to the reform, major efforts should be devoted to promoting the facilitation of trade and investment. The foreign exchange administration departments at all levels will be required to further emancipate their minds, to transform the methodology of administration, and to continue to promote the convertibility of the capital account in a progressive manner. With regard to the monitoring of capital flows, the foreign exchange administration departments will be required to emphasize the fundamental importance of enhancing the level of monitoring and analysis of cross-border capital flows for the transformation of administration. Efforts should be made to sum up the experiences from the monitoring of cross-border fund flows at earlier stages and to establish and perfect the system for the monitoring of cross-border fund flows under the capital account. The foreign exchange administration departments at all levels should enhance their capabilities to identify new circumstances, new trends, and new problems in a timely manner, strengthen their capability to crack down with high precision on abnormal fund flows, thus obtaining an in-depth comprehension of the new circumstances and trends, improving the level of foreign exchange administration, and optimizing services. 2010-03-15/en/2010/0315/920.html
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For the purpose of further encouraging business innovation in banks as well as facilitating individual foreign exchange settlement and sales, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) recently approved that three commercial banks, i.e., the Bank of China, the China Merchants Bank, and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, will conduct pilot operations for individual foreign exchange settlement and sales business through e-banking. The Measures for Individual Foreign Exchange Administration and the detailed rules which took effect in February 2007 allow individuals to carry out foreign exchange purchase and settlement businesses within their yearly quota at bank counters by presenting their valid identity documents. Such pilot operations for individual foreign exchange settlement and sales business via e-banking will provide individuals with more efficient and convenient channels to handle the relevant businesses. Domestic individuals are allowed to conduct non-operational foreign exchange settlement and sales business under the current account within their yearly quota via e-banking or via self-service terminals after opening an account at the pilot banks by presenting their valid resident identification cards of the Peoples Republic of China. This will increase the banksefficiency in handling business and help ease pressures at bank counters and reduce bank costs. By using the data information-sharing mechanism that connects the e-banking system with the Management Information System for Foreign Exchange Settlement and Sales by Individuals, relevant information about foreign exchange purchases and settlement by domestic individuals in the e-banking system will be transmitted automatically in a real-time manner to the Management Information System for Foreign Exchange Settlement and Sales by Individuals, and will be incorporated into the management of the yearly quota of foreign exchange settlement and sales by individuals. The SAFE will closely track and monitor the status of the pilot operations, sum up the experiences from the pilot operations, guard against inflows and outflows of abnormal foreign exchange funds via individual e-banking channels, and continue to maintain a standardized and orderly foreign exchange market. 2010-04-23/en/2010/0423/928.html