Wenzhou's new FDI pilot plan before State Council

(Ecns.cn)--Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province may be the first Chinese city to allow its citizens to make direct investments abroad, according to China Business News on Monday.

The new version of the Wenzhou personal foreign direct investment pilot plan was recently submitted to the State Council for approval.

The contents are almost the same as that of the old version but the old one was shelved last year when it failed to get support from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

According to the new plan, during the pilot phase, each Wenzhou resident may operate with an annual limit of FDI set at $200 million, while the limit on a single project stands at $3 million.

Those who are over 18 years of age, with a registered legal residence in Wenzhou and a passport are also allowed to make direct overseas investments. Applicants are, however, forbidden from speculating in stocks and property.

Applicants would also be prohibited from investing in countries that do not maintain diplomatic ties with China.

Those who do get the green light to invest abroad would also be eligible to make direct investments in Taiwan.

Currently, overseas investment channels for Chinese citizens is limited. They could only invest in B shares, overseas mutual fund investment portfolios, foreign currency transactions and the gold trade.

Chinese individuals were previously allowed to buy a maximum value of US$40,000 in foreign currencies each year. Under the new plan, Wenzhou residents would be able to apply for larger amounts, as long as their investment plans meet the city government's criteria.