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FILE: Brief Table of External Debt, End-2005 2011-09-20/en/2011/0920/1404.html
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FILE: Brief Table of External Debt, End-2007 2011-09-20/en/2011/0920/1403.html
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In accordance with the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Anti-Money Laundering (Decree No. 56 of the President of the People’s Republic of China) and Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Foreign Exchange Administration (Decree No. 532 of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China), the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has strengthened foreign exchange market regulation, and severely cracked down upon false and fraudulent foreign exchange transactions and other irregular behaviors, in a bid to contain money laundering and relevant illegal and criminal activities, and maintain the healthy and benign order in the foreign exchange market. In accordance with the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Disclosure of Government Information (Decree No. 492 of the State Council of the People's Republic of China) and other relevant regulations, a selection of typical cases involving violations of foreign exchange regulations are notified as follows: Case 1: The false entrepot trade case of Xiamen Branch, PingAn Bank From September 2015 to September 2016, Xiamen Branch of PingAn Bank handled foreign exchange payment for entrepot trade with false contracts and bills of lading of enterprises. Such behavior violates Article 12 of the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration. In accordance with Article 47 of the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration, a penalty of RMB 2.80 million was imposed on the bank. Case 2: The false entrepot trade case of Haikou Branch, China Everbright Bank From December 2015 to May 2016, Haikou Branch of China Everbright Bank handled foreign exchange payment for entrepot trade with false contracts and bills of lading of enterprises. Such behavior violates Article 12 of the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration. In accordance with Article 47 of the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration, a penalty of RMB 800,000 was imposed. Case 3: Handling of prepayment by Guangzhou Branch of Bank of East Asia in violation of regulations From February to May 2016, Guangzhou Branch of Bank of East Asia failed to perform verification responsibilities, and handled foreign exchange payment for prepayment in violation of regulations when there were multiple obvious inconsistencies between the import contracts and the invoices of enterprises. Such behavior violates Article 12 of the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration. In accordance with Article 47 of the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration, a penalty of RMB 500,000 was imposed. Case 4: Handling of onshore guarantees for offshore loans by Dalian Branch of Minsheng Bank in violation of regulations From July 2015 to March 2016, Dalian Branch of Minsheng Bank failed to fulfill verification responsibilities when handling contracting of onshore guarantees for offshore loans and performing foreign exchange payment, and failed to conduct due diligence and inspection on sources of expected repayment funds and relevant trading background. Such behavior of the Bank violated Articles 12 and 28 of Provisions on Foreign Exchange Administration for Cross-border Guarantee. In accordance with Article 47 of the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration, a penalty of RMB 3.073 million was imposed. Case 5: Evasion of foreign exchange by Jishan County Kangshengda Preserved Foods Co., Ltd. From October 2014 to November 2015, Jishan County Kangshengda Preserved Foods Co., Ltd. failed to collect foreign exchange for exported goods, involving an amount of USD 4.6647 million. Such behavior violated Article 12 of the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration and Article 14 of the Guidance on Foreign Exchange Administration under Trade in Goods, and was considered evasion of foreign exchange. In accordance with Article 39 of the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration, a penalty of RMB 2.0859 million was imposed. Relevant penalty information has been included in the credit information system of the People’s Bank of China. Case 6: Evasion of foreign exchange by Ningbo Minghui Mining Co., Ltd. In February and March 2017, Ningbo Minghui Mining Co., Ltd. fabricated trade background with invalid documents and made external foreign exchange payment of USD 2.7371 million. Such behavior violated Articles 12 and 14 of the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration, and was considered evasion of foreign exchange. In accordance with Article 39 of the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration, a penalty of RMB 924,000 was imposed. Relevant penalty information has been included in the credit information system of the People’s Bank of China. Case 7: Evasion of foreign exchange by Ningbo Shiding Import & Export Co., Ltd. In September 2017, Ningbo Shiding Import & Export Co., Ltd. forged marine bill of lading, fabricated trade background and made external foreign exchange payment of USD 3.881 million. Such behavior violated Articles 12 and 14 of the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration, and was considered evasion of foreign exchange. In accordance with Article 39 of the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration, a penalty of RMB 1.273 million was imposed. Relevant penalty information has been included in the credit information system of the People’s Bank of China. Case 8: Evasion of foreign exchange by Jiangsu Wuyang Group Co., Ltd. In September 2017, Jiangsu Wuyang Group Co., Ltd. forged import contracts, fabricated trade background and made external foreign exchange payment of USD 2.0007 million. Such behavior violated Article 12 of the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration and Article 3 of the Guidance on Foreign Exchange Administration under Trade in Goods, and was considered evasion of foreign exchange. In accordance with Article 39 of the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration, a penalty of RMB 654,000 was imposed. Relevant penalty information has been included in the credit information system of the People’s Bank of China. Case 9: Illegal trading of foreign exchange by a Mr. Zhou from Hong Kong From August 2014 to August 2016, Mr. Zhou conducted illegal trading of Hong Kong dollars several times via underground banks, involving an amount equivalent to RMB 14.0121 million. Such behavior violates Article 32 of the Regulations for the Administration of Settlement and Sales of and Payment in Foreign Exchange and was considered illegal trading of foreign exchange. In accordance with Article 45 of the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration, a penalty of RMB 1.4012 million was imposed. The SAFE exercised the “Watch list” management on Mr. Zhou, and included him into the credit information system of the People’s Bank of China. Case 10: Illegal trading of foreign exchange by a Mr. Yang from Guangdong From May 2015 to April 2016, Mr. Yang conducted illegal purchase of US dollars several times via underground banks, involving a total amount equivalent to RMB 4.5307 million. Such behavior violated Article 30 of the Measures for the Administration of Individual Foreign Exchange and Article 32 of the Regulations for the Administration of Settlement and Sales of and Payment in Foreign Exchange, and was considered illegal trading of foreign exchange. In accordance with Article 45 of the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration, a penalty of RMB 317,100 was imposed. The SAFE exercised the “Watch list” management on Mr. Yang, and included him into the credit information system of the People’s Bank of China. Case 11: Illegal trading of foreign exchange by a Mr. Xu from Jiangsu From October 2017 to April 2018, Mr. Xu conducted illegal trading of Hong Kong dollars at Macau casinos several times via underground banks, involving an amount equivalent to RMB 2.6598 million. Such behavior violated Article 30 of the Measures for the Administration of Individual Foreign Exchange and Article 32 of the Regulations for the Administration of Settlement and Sales of and Payment in Foreign Exchange, and was considered illegal trading of foreign exchange. In accordance with Article 45 of the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration, a penalty of RMB 320,000 was imposed. The SAFE exercised the “Watch list” management on Mr. Xu, and included him into the credit information system of the People’s Bank of China. Case 12: Illegal trading of foreign exchange by a Mr. Feng from Liaoning From December 2017 to May 2018, Mr. Feng conducted illegal trading of Hong Kong dollars at Macau casinos several times via underground banks, involving an amount equivalent to RMB 10.8179 million. Such behavior violated Article 30 of the Measures for the Administration of Individual Foreign Exchange and Article 32 of the Regulations for the Administration of Settlement and Sales of and Payment in Foreign Exchange, and was considered illegal trading of foreign exchange. In accordance with Article 45 of the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration, a penalty of RMB 1.30 million was imposed. The SAFE exercised the “Watch list” management on Mr. Feng, and included him into the credit information system of the People’s Bank of China. Case 13: Evasion of foreign exchange through split transactions by a Mr. Zhou from Shanghai From January to December 2015, to illegally transfer assets overseas, Mr. Zhou used the annual quotas of 21 domestic individuals for foreign exchange purchase to purchase foreign exchange and transfer personal funds split to overseas accounts, illegally transferring funds of USD 1.0496 million in total. Such behavior violated Article 7 of the Measures for the Administration of Individual Foreign Exchange and was considered evasion of foreign exchange. In accordance with Article 39 of the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration, a penalty of RMB 330,000 was imposed. The SAFE exercised the “Watch list” management on Mr. Zhou, and included him into the credit information system of the People’s Bank of China. Case 14: Evasion of foreign exchange through split transactions by a Mr. Shen from Shanghai From January to July 2016, to illegally transfer assets overseas, Mr. Shen used the annual quotas of 34 domestic individuals for foreign exchange purchase to purchase foreign exchange and transfer personal funds split to overseas accounts for purchasing overseas house properties, illegally transferring funds of CAD 2.04 million in total. Such behavior violated Article 7 of the Measures for the Administration of Individual Foreign Exchange and was considered evasion of foreign exchange. In accordance with Article 39 of the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration, a penalty of RMB 510,000 was imposed. The SAFE exercised the “Watch list” management on Mr. Shen, and included him into the credit information system of the People’s Bank of China. Case 15: Evasion of foreign exchange through split transactions by a Mr. Sui from Jilin From November 2017 to April 2018, to illegally transfer assets overseas, Mr. Sui used the annual quotas of 173 domestic individuals for foreign exchange purchase to purchase foreign exchange and transfer personal funds split to overseas accounts for purchasing overseas house properties, illegally transferring funds of CAD 12.0565 million in total. Such behavior violated Article 7 of the Measures for the Administration of Individual Foreign Exchange and was considered evasion of foreign exchange. In accordance with Article 39 of the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Administration, a penalty of RMB 3.009 million was imposed. The SAFE exercised the “Watch list” management on Mr. Sui, and included him into the credit information system of the People’s Bank of China. 2018-12-06/en/2018/1206/1478.html
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The national foreign exchange administration work conference was held in Beijing recently. Under the guidance of Xin Jinping thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, by following the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress, the Second and Third Plenums of the 19th CPC Central Committee and the Central Economic Work Conference, the conference reviewed the four-decade journey of reform and opening-up in foreign exchange administration area, summarized foreign exchange administration in 2018, analyzed current foreign exchange situation in an in-depth manner, and discussed and made plans for foreign exchange administration tasks for the next phase. Pan Gongsheng, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Administrator of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) delivered a work report. The conference holds that, in 2018, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee led by Comrade Xi Jinping and guidance of the CPC Committee of the People's Bank of China, foreign exchange authorities resolutely implemented the decisions and deployment of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, strictly and comprehensively exercise self-discipline, unswervingly promoted the overall work guideline of making progress while maintaining stability, proactively adapted to the profound changes in external environment, deepened foreign exchange administration reform, advanced the dual-directional opening-up of the financial market, so as to serve the overall new pattern of opening-up, effectively guard against cross-border capital flow risks, safeguard security, liquidity as well as value preservation and appreciation of foreign exchange reserves and maintain national economic and financial security. The first is thoroughly promoting strict Party's self-discipline under the guidance of the Party's political construction. We made it a top political priority to study and implement Xi Jinping thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era and the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress, and fully carried out the decisions and deployment of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. We thoroughly implemented the spirit of the eight-point guidelines set out by the CPC Central Committee and worked to strengthen construction of party conduct and government integrity. The second is persisting in serving the real economy and thoroughly advancing the reform of "delegation, regulation and service". Efforts have been made to deepen opening-up and development of capital market and foreign exchange market, refine the qualified institutional investor system, vigorously support the "Belt and Road" construction as well as opening-up and innovative development of Free Trade Zones to improve the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment. The third is getting off to a good start in the tough battle of guarding against and alleviating major financial risks, improving the two-pronged "macro-prudential + micro-regulatory" administrative framework for cross-border capital flow. Vigorous efforts were made to severely crack down upon foreign exchange irregularities such as underground banks and illegal online foreign currency speculation, so as to maintain a good order in the foreign exchange market. The fourth is improving operation and management of foreign exchange reserves, constantly strengthening investment capability building, and deepening diversified utilization to serve the national strategy and safeguard national economic and financial security. As pointed out on the conference, the SAFE was established with the approval of the State Council on March 13, 1979 as needed by the reform and opening-up. Over the past 40 years since the reform and opening-up and the founding of the SAFE, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, foreign exchange authorities have been constantly reinforcing the decisive role of market in foreign exchange resource allocation, actively transforming the concepts and approaches of foreign exchange administration, deepening reform and opening-up in foreign exchange field, improving capabilities for serving the real economy, and have withstood a series of intensive external shocks at both regional and global level, and maintained national economic and financial security. Foreign exchange authorities are required to earnestly summarize successful experience over the past four decades of reform and opening-up in foreign exchange field, and vigorously serve the new comprehensive opening-up pattern which covers all dimensions, multiple levels and wider fields. The conference emphasized that the year 2019 marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and it's a crucial year for building a well-off society in an all-around way. Foreign exchange authorities shall rally more closely around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core under the guidance of Xi Jinping thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, follow the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress and the Second and Third Plenums of the 19th CPC Central Committee and the Central Economic Work Conference in an all-around manner, firmly establish the "four consciousness", strengthen "four self-confidences", and resolutely perform "two maintenances", so as to unify thoughts and actions by focusing on the CPC Central Committee’s significant judgments as well as decisions and arrangements about current situations both at home and abroad, adhere to the overall work direction of seeking progress while maintaining stability, persist in deepening market-oriented reform with focus on supply-side structural reform, expand high-level opening-up, deepen the reform of "delegation, regulation and service", well implement the requirements of "six stabilities", thoroughly advance reform and opening-up in the foreign exchange field, continue to fight the three major battles, earnestly serve the sustained and sound development of the real economy, and celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China with outstanding achievements. The conference laid out foreign exchange administration priorities of 2019. First, comprehensively strengthening Party discipline and deepening its development. We will persist in prioritizing the Party's political construction, study and implement Xin Jinping thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era and the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress in an in-depth manner, fully follow the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee in financial and foreign exchange work, further intensify supervision and enforcement, resolutely implement the spirit of the eight-point guidelines issued by the CPC leadership, relentlessly rectify undesirable work styles such as formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism and extravagance, and build a professional and high-quality foreign exchange administration team with loyalty, integrity and sense of responsibility. Second, promoting reform and opening-up in foreign exchange field. The foreign exchange authorities will steadily promote the opening-up of capital account in an orderly manner, further refine qualified foreign institutional investor system, and study the foreign exchange administration framework for foreign-funded enterprises under the national treatment and negative list management system before access is granted. Efforts will be made to expand bi-directional opening-up of foreign exchange market, further enrich instruments of transactions, increase trading entities, and build an open and competitive foreign exchange market. Third, deepening the foreign exchange administration reform of "delegation, regulation and service". The SAFE will optimize foreign exchange administration services, promote liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment at a higher level, further support free trade zones, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Hainan to deepen reforms in an all-around manner, and foster a convenient and highly efficient, stable and transparent business environment with fair competition. Fourth, improving the two-pronged "macro-prudential + micro-regulatory" management framework for cross-border capital flow. The SAFE will regulate fluctuations in the foreign exchange market in a market-based and countercyclical manner, maintain stability, consistency and predictability of micro-regulation of foreign exchange across cycles, crack down upon illegal and irregular activities in foreign exchange, promote "digital foreign exchange administration" and "secure foreign exchange administration" construction, and safeguard optimum order in foreign exchange market. Fifth, improving the operation and management of foreign exchange reserves. The SAFE will further promote operation capability construction, vigorously serve the "Belt and Road" Initiative and national strategy, and safeguard security, liquidity as well as value preservation and appreciation of foreign exchange reserves. The Party Leadership Group members, the Chief Accountant and Chief Economist of the SAFE attended this conference. The main responsible comrades of branches and foreign exchange administrative departments of the SAFE as well as administrative organs of the SAFE attended this conference. 2019-01-04/en/2019/0118/1485.html
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The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has recently disseminated the data on banks' foreign exchange settlement and sales as well as their foreign-related receipts and payments for customers for November 2018. The SAFE spokesperson and Chief Economist Wang Chunying answered media questions on foreign exchange receipts and payments for November. Q: What would you say about the foreign exchange receipts and payments in China in November? A: Supply and demand in the domestic foreign exchange market maintained basic equilibrium in November. The supply and demand of China’s foreign exchange market mainly consists of two parts: one is the difference in foreign exchange settled and sold by banks. The other is foreign exchange transactions of domestic banks, overseas clearing banks and other market entities in the inter-bank foreign exchange market. For example, in November, the changes in the forward settlement and sales of foreign exchange for customers made the banks increase foreign exchange supply to the market by USD 11.2 billion, which achieved a basic balance between supply and demand with the deficit of banks' foreign exchange settlement and sales. Under the combined effect of basic balance of supply and demand, exchange rate conversion and asset price changes in the domestic foreign exchange market, China’s foreign exchange reserves stood at USD 3,061.7 billion at the end of November 2018, up by USD 8.6 billion from the end of October. Currently, the foreign exchange market expectations are stable. First of all, with the change of market environment, the RMB exchange rate against the US dollar has appreciated on the whole since November, and the exchange rate expectations of market players have been reasonably differentiated. As a result, the value of foreign exchange contracted for forward settlement and sales by banks in November has maintained a surplus for the third month consecutively, pushing the banking sector to supply more foreign exchange to the market. Secondly, enterprises’ utilization of foreign capital, investment abroad, cross-border financing as well as onshore guarantees for offshore loans remained basically stable. The purchase of foreign exchange by individuals continued to maintain stable with slight decline. The scale of foreign exchange purchases by individuals in October and November was at a low level this year, with a year-on-year decline of 9% in November. In recent years, the international environment has been complex and external pressure has continued to exist. However, China’s foreign exchange market displays a pattern of two-way fluctuation and basic stability, with no trend change. On the one hand, this indicates the fundamental impact of China’s stable economic operation; on the other hand, it also shows that the players in the foreign exchange market are becoming more sensible and their ability to adapt to changes in the external environment has been constantly improving. In the future, China will continue to deepen market-oriented reform, expand high-level opening-up and maintain sustained and healthy economic development, which will be conducive to further consolidating the foundation for the stability of China’s foreign exchange market. 2018-12-20/en/2018/1220/1480.html
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The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has recently released the Balance of Payments (BOP) for the third quarter of 2018 and the International Investment Position (IIP) as of the end of September 2018. The SAFE spokesperson and Chief Economist Wang Chunying answered media questions on relevant issues. Q: What are the characteristics of China’s balance of payments in the third quarter of 2018? A: In the third quarter of 2018, China’s current account and financial account excluding reserve assets both registered surplus and the balance of payments basically maintained equilibrium. First, the surplus under the current account increased. In the third quarter of 2018, the surplus under the current account was USD 23.3 billion, up by 338% quarter-on-quarter. Specifically, the trade in goods in the BOP registered a surplus of USD 100.8 billion; the trade in services recorded a deficit of USD 80.9 billion, with travel, transport and intellectual property fees remaining the main deficit items of trade in services. Second, the financial account excluding reserve assets maintained surplus, and the cross-border capital continued its net inflow trend since 2017. In the third quarter of 2018, there was a surplus of USD 14 billion in financial account excluding reserve assets. In particular, net inflows of USD 33.9 billion came from securities investment. Direct investment remained basically balanced, with a net outflow of USD 25.1 billion for ODI, and a net inflow of USD 25.2 billion from FDI. Q: Could you tell us about China's international investment position (IIP) for the third quarter of 2018? A: At the end of September 2018, China’s overall international investment position remained stable, and its reserve assets continued to be the largest in the world. Firstly, the total size of external financial assets increased slightly. At the end of September 2018, China’s external assets reached USD 7,047.3 billion, up by 0.1% from the end of June. Specifically, ODI assets totaled USD 1,542 billion, up by 1.3%; external securities investment assets registered USD 528.8 billion, up by 2.0%; other external investment assets registered USD 1,793.6 billion, up by 0.8%; and reserve assets stood at USD 3,177.1 billion, still remaining the largest in the world. Secondly, external liabilities increased. At the end of September 2018, China's external debt reached USD 5,354.5 billion, up by 1.1% from the end of June, mainly affected by exchange rate changes and revaluation. Specifically, FDI liabilities registered USD 2,960.3 billion, up by 0.3%; external securities investment liabilities stood at USD 1,133.1 billion, up by 0.4%; and other external investment liabilities registered USD 1,253 billion, up by 3.4%. 2018-12-28/en/2018/1228/1482.html
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Q: According to the latest data on foreign exchange reserves released by the People’s Bank of China, as of the end of October, China’s foreign exchange reserves decreased by USD33.9 billion from the end of September. Could you tell us why the change occurred? What’s the trend of foreign exchange reserves in the future? A: By the end of October 2018, China’s foreign exchange reserves stood at USD3,053.1 billion, down by USD33.9 billion or 1.1% from the end of September. In October, China’s cross-border capital flows were generally stable and the balance of payments basically maintained equilibrium. Affected by monetary policies of major countries, global trade situations, geopolitical situations, among others, fluctuations on the international financial market have intensified. The US dollar index has risen by over 2 percent, and asset prices in major countries witnessed adjustment. Due to the combined impact of exchange rate translation and asset price changes etc, the foreign exchange reserves declined slightly. Since the beginning of this year, the international environment has been complex, with apparent rising of uncertainty in the global economic and financial market. China’s economy has maintained overall stability and steady progress, continued to remain within the reasonable range, and the foreign exchangemarket has been running smoothly. According to preliminary statistics, banks showed a small deficit of about USD3 billion in foreign exchange settlement and sales in October, narrowing by over 80% from September. Specifically, net purchase of foreign exchange by individuals was stable with a slight decline, both on a year-on-year basis and month-on-month basis. Looking ahead, although there are many uncertain external factors, China's economic fundamentals are still robust, with strong resilience and adaptability. Meanwhile, with China’s economic transformation and upgrade as well as further opening-up, there are still adequate conditions which are conductive to steady operation of cross-border capital flow, and China’s foreign exchange reserves are expected to stay stable amid fluctuations. 2018-11-07/en/2018/1107/1479.html
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Q: The latest data on foreign exchange reserves disseminated by the People's Bank of China show that China's foreign exchange reserves by the end of November 2018 rose by USD 8.6 billion month on month. My question is what caused such changes in foreign exchange reserves and how the foreign exchange reserves will change in the future? A: By the end of November 2018, China's foreign exchange reserves stood at USD 3,061.7 billion, up by USD 8.6 billion or 0.3% from the end of October. In November, China's balance of payments continued to maintain steady operation. Affected by change in expectation of US monetary policies and fluctuations of international oil prices, bond prices of major countries rose slightly on the whole, while the US dollar index increased marginally amid fluctuations. Due to the combined impact of exchange rate translation and asset price changes etc., the foreign exchange reserves witnessed an increase. Since the beginning of this year, the instabilities and uncertainties in the external environment have increased remarkably. However, China's economy has maintained overall stability and made steady progress. The RMB exchange rate has showed an increased two-way floating elasticity, supply and demand in the foreign exchange market has maintained basic equilibrium, and cross-border capital flows have been stable on the whole. Looking ahead, although there are many uncertainties in the global economy and finance, the long-term positive fundamentals of China's economy has remained unchanged. As China continues to expand reform and opening-up, the impetus and momentum for China's economic development will be further strengthened, thus laying a solid foundation for the overall stability of the foreign exchange market. Under the combined impact of internal and external factors, China's foreign exchange reserves are expected to remain stable amid fluctuations. 2018-12-07/en/2018/1207/1477.html
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The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has recently released the data on external debt as at the end of September 2018. The SAFE spokesperson and Chief Economist Wang Chunying answered media questions on relevant issues. Q: Could you brief us on China's external debt for the third quarter of 2018? A: China witnessed growth in external debt for the third quarter of 2018. As at the end of September, China's full-scale outstanding external debt (including foreign currencies) amounted to USD 1.9132 trillion, up by USD 42.7 billion or 2.3% from the end of June, mainly due to the growth of the balance of trade credit and prepayment and of debt securities. Q: What are the main reasons for the growth of China’s outstanding external debt in the third quarter? A: First, the scale of China’s import and export trade increased steadily in the third quarter. In particular, the import trade increased by nearly 19% from the same period last year, and the balance of trade financing increased accordingly. Second, in recent years, with the gradual acceleration of China’s bond market opening to the outside world, foreign investors have continued to increase their holdings of domestic bonds, and the proportion of debt securities in China’s full-scale external debt has been rising steadily. As of the end of September 2018, the proportion of debt securities was 22.4%. As the global economic situation faces many uncertainties in the future, the SAFE will continue to closely monitor changes in external debt situations, guard against risk of cross-border capital flows and safeguard national economic and financial security. 2018-12-28/en/2018/1228/1481.html
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To meet the requirements of foreign investors to expand investment in China’s capital market, the total quota for qualified foreign institutional investors (QFIIs) has been raised from USD 150 billion to USD 300 billion upon approval of the State Council. As the earliest and most important institutional arrangement for China's capital market to open to the outside world, QFII system serves as one of the major channels for foreign investors to make investment in China's domestic financial market. From 2016 to 2018, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) conducted a significant reform on QFII system-related foreign exchange administration, including improving prudent management, abolishing restrictions on proportion of outward remittance and canceling relevant provisions on lock-up period, allowing foreign exchange hedging of securities assets held by QFIIs in China, which has greatly facilitated foreign investors to invest in domestic financial market via QFII channels. 2019-01-14/en/2019/0118/1486.html