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Looser currency controls on cards

By Xu Binglan and Li Fangchao (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-03-09 09:21

The authorities are considering further relaxing currency controls to slow down the expansion of the country's foreign exchange reserves, the chief of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said yesterday.

SAFE Director Hu Xiaolian said new measures under consideration include allowing individuals to convert theirrenminbiholdings into foreign currency and invest the money in overseas markets on their own, and allowing Chinese companies to issue bonds denominated in hard currencies.

She was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress.

China launched the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor Scheme (QDII) in April 2006. 

Under the scheme, selected institutions are allowed to pool individuals' foreign currency holdings and invest the money in overseas financial markets.

But only a fraction of the $14 billion QDII quota has been used.

Hu said the design of QDII products had to be improved to make them more attractive.

But analysts say expectations that the renminbi would appreciate further were also a key reason for the lukewarm domestic response to QDII.

Hu said regulators had heard calls to allow individuals to buy foreign currency and invest the money overseas by themselves.

"It is an idea worth exploring," she said. "But we need to research the channels and amounts (for individuals overseas investments using foreign exchange)."

Hu said regulators would also consider permitting domestic institutions to issue bonds in foreign currencies.

"It is a very good idea, which we will definitely include within the scope of our research," she said.

China allowed international development agencies to float yuan-based bonds last year.

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