China aims to curb irrational investment

An employee at a bank counter in Nantong, Jiangsu province, counts renminbi and dollars. [Photo/China Daily]

China's top economic regulator on Tuesday published detailed rules to punish "discreditable" enterprises, referring to those that are found to be involved in illegal outbound investments or in moves to book profits by short-selling the yuan.

In an exclusive interview with China Daily in September, an official from the National Development and Reform Commission said the central government will issue a slew of measures to refine the current steps to regulate irrational outbound investment.

The official said the government might loosen some of its grip on outbound investment in future if irrational outbound buying sprees are "effectively controlled".

Some enterprises, using money borrowed from domestic banks, have been purchasing various assets in foreign countries, such as hotels and soccer clubs, some of which may have been involved in illegal money laundering activities.

The latest guideline came after the central government issued a slew of measures since late last year, aimed at ensuring the authenticity of outbound investment and controlling risks.

The guideline said enterprises that were involved in such behavior would not be allowed to purchase foreign exchange or make outbound investment.

Enterprises on the blacklist will also be subject to tighter scrutiny of domestic investment activities from government regulators, and their cooperation with local governments, say, land purchases, would be affected because of illegal outbound investment behavior, the guideline said.

The information will be shared across different regulatory bodies and will be updated on a regular basis, according to Gu Dawei, head of the department of foreign capital and overseas investment at the NDRC, the top agency responsible for regulating enterprises' outbound investments.

Blacklisted enterprises will not be banned from making overseas investments once and for all, as the guideline has introduced an "amendment scheme", he said.

Enterprises will have the chance to register a complaint and submit authentic material in order to seek future approval, the guideline said.