10/05/19

CHINA: State to simplify rules for offshore bond investors.

As published on finance.yahoo.com, Friday 10^th May, 2019.

China will let foreign investors switch bonds between access channels to the mainland market, the foreign exchange regulator said on Friday, responding to a long term demand by the international investment community.

Foreign entities can invest in China through various access channels, but until now have not been allowed to switch securities between them.

According to draft rules by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) on Friday, investors using the China interbank bond market (CIBM) Direct, launched in 2016, will be able to move securities to and from two older programmes, Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) and its yuan-denominated sibling, RQFII.

China opened Bond Connect in 2017, the most direct fixed income channel to date, which allows access to the onshore interbank market via Hong Kong.