SAFE revises rules to improve forex market liquidity
This is another example of regulators responding to the State Council’s demand to get rid of unnecessary administrative procedures and to …
CSRC issues rules to tighten grip on private funds
These regulations are part of the government’s broader strategy of controlling risks in the financial sector. On the one hand, the authorities want to …
CBIRC steps up regulation of short-term health insurance
The notice represents another effort by the CBIRC to build a more stable and better-regulated insurance sector. As with other areas of China’s financial system, supervision of the short-term health insurance business has not …
PayPal takes full ownership of Chinese payments company GoPay
PayPal’s acquisition of the remaining stake in GoPay follows the government’s decision to scrap foreign ownership controls on most of the financial sector. The acquisition gives PayPal full control to …
CBIRC devolves responsibility for personal insurance supervision to local branches
Since the Party and the State Council told the bureaucracy to simplify administration, decentralize power, and improve services last year, financial regulators have issued a series of rules to …
CBIRC issues draft guidelines to grade consumer finance companies
Beijing knows that consumer finance is key to boosting consumption, but wants to make sure that the industry isn’t generating undue risk. Having been burned by …
PBoC outlines priorities for 2021
The PBoC’s 2021 priorities are largely a restatement of long-standing priorities, including serving the real economy, financial derisking, and maintaining a prudent monetary policy. But there were also new areas …
MoF amends performance evaluation system for state-owned commercial banks
For years, the government has sent conflicting signals to commercial banks. On the one hand, they are often asked to do the state’s bidding and play their part in …
CBIRC rolls out new rules for internet insurers
Expanding insurance coverage among underserved sectors of the population is a key strategic imperative for policymakers and the internet is an ideal vehicle for doing so. But, as with other online financial services, insurance has been …
PBoC drafts revisions to anti-money laundering measures, covering nonbank financial institutions for the first time
Efforts to upgrade and improve anti-money laundering regulations are not driven solely by the need to comply with the FATF. They are also a key component of …
Ant Group summoned by regulators for a second time as fintech crackdown gathers pace
Since the shock suspension of Ant Group’s IPO on November 2, regulators have been on a crusade to rein in the fintech sector, not only in terms of the risks it potentially poses to the stability of the financial system but also …
CBIRC introduces grading system to control risks at insurance AMCs
The CBIRC’s rating system is an attempt to clearly classify the risks borne by insurance AMCs and to encourage …
Suzhou wraps up digital currency trial
This second major public test of China’s digital currency was double the size of the first one in Shenzhen and included one of the country’s biggest e-commerce platforms, a sign of the progress being made in …
Yi Huiman lists priorities for capital market reform
Although Yi’s speech reiterated existing policies and reflected top-level financial reform goals, it is reassuring to know that …
Shenzhen and Shanghai bourses release final version of regulations to facilitate delisting of poor-quality companies
The bourses decided to end the year with a bang by gifting the market with more stringent delisting rules. Investors broadly welcomed the draft rules released in mid-December but …
CBIRC prepares to fine tune market access rules for foreign insurers
The CBIRC’s adjustments are just that – tweaks designed to smooth the entry of foreign insurers into the Chinese market, in line with the recent liberalization of …
CBIRC highlights fintech risks, calls for rectification
Regulators’ decision in November to squash Ant Group’s IPO was not conceived of as an effort to punish one individual firm that had grown too powerful, but …
Regulators finalize rules to promote cross-border transactions in RMB
These rules mark another small step toward opening the capital account and encouraging the use of the RMB by foreign investors and merchants. Progress has been marginal in recent years because …
PBoC extends pandemic-related monetary policy tools to help small businesses
China’s economy was the first to slump due to the pandemic and was the first to start recovering. But the government has acknowledged …
Shenzhen and Shanghai bourses release draft rules to facilitate delisting of poor quality companies
One of the key complaints investors have had about China’s stock markets is that it’s just too difficult for a company to get kicked out, leaving many low-quality and poorly managed firms with a coveted listing. But …