China promotes institutional opening-up in financial sector in FTZs

An aerial view of the Lin-gang Special Area of China Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)

China has further opened up the financial sector by pledging equal treatment for domestic and foreign financial institutions in terms of launching new financial services in eligible free trade zones, according to a new guideline.

The guideline, jointly issued by the People's Bank of China and several other departments, vowed to allow foreign financial institutions to conduct the same new financial services as domestic players, as part of the 20 measures it introduced to promote institutional financial opening-up in eligible free trade zones.

According to the guideline, published by the PBOC on Wednesday, new financial services refer to financial services that have not been provided within China but are already offered and regulated in other countries or regions.

The guideline said that except for specific new financial services involving factors such as national security and financial security if domestic financial institutions are permitted to offer them, trial regions should also allow foreign financial institutions to do so.

"If a new financial service is conducted in a trial manner, it should actively support eligible foreign financial institutions to participate, and foreign financial institutions should not be excluded from the trial scope," the guideline said.

Other key measures unveiled in the guideline include regulators making decisions on financial institutions' applications to conduct services within 120 days, supporting cross-border purchases of certain overseas financial services, facilitating the inflow and outflow of funds related to foreign investors' investments and improving arrangements for cross-border flow of financial data.

These policy measures will be implemented in the free trade trial zones of Shanghai, Tianjin, Beijing, as well as the provinces of Guangdong, Fujian and Hainan, as well as in specific platforms designated to undertake important tasks in opening-up, the PBOC said in a statement.