China will abandon quotas on how much foreign currency its companies can obtain in order to invest abroad, a news report said yesterday.
Such a step, which comes as Beijing's trading partners urge it to ease strict currency controls, could result in a dramatic increase in the amount of money that Chinese companies are investing abroad.
The report by the official Xinhua News Agency didn't say when it would take effect.
"In the future, if any firms win approval to invest overseas, they could freely buy foreign currencies needed for the investment from banks," Xinhua quoted Guan Tao (
Until now, China has required companies to go through a multi-stage process to invest abroad: first getting approval for projects and then applying for permission to buy the foreign currency to pay for them.
Companies are required to bring home most of the money that they make abroad and convert it into Chinese currency. That requirement gives foreign exchange regulators a dominant role in foreign business decisions.
Many companies say those restrictions limit their ability to pursue opportunities, and some flout the rules by keeping profits abroad.
The government announced last week that it would sharply raise the amount of money that companies and individuals are allowed to move abroad for investment as of May 1.
China has the world's biggest foreign currency reserves -- US$875.1 billion as of the end of March -- as a result of surging exports and foreign investment and controls that limit the amount of money that can be taken abroad.
China also is under pressure to relax controls on the exchange rate of its currency, the yuan, which the US and other trading partners say is too low and gives Chinese exporters an unfair price advantage.
"We now want to strengthen the support for overseas investment by Chinese companies," Guan was quoted as saying.
"We want to expand channels for foreign currencies to flow out of the country, which is why we are poised to abolish the corporate overseas investment quotas," Guan said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source