China’s SAFE Releases Circular on Foreign-Invested Partnership Enterprises

Dec. 3 – With the view to facilitate foreign investment and standardize the administration of foreign exchange for foreign-invested partnership enterprises, China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) released the “Circular on Issues Concerning the Administration of Foreign Exchange of Foreign-Invested Partnership Enterprises (huifa [2012] No. 58, hereinafter referred to as ‘Circular’)” on November 19, 2012.

The Circular clarifies and standardizes the relevant issues concerning the administration of foreign exchange for foreign-invested partnerships, including:

1. Streamline the administration process to facilitate the investment of  foreign-invested partnership enterprises: The administration concerning the foreign exchange of foreign-invested partnership enterprises mainly involves registration. After the completion of the necessary procedures for foreign exchange registration and capital contribution identification, foreign-invested partnership enterprises may directly handle the relevant foreign exchange business with the banks, including the opening of foreign exchange accounts and the purchasing and paying of foreign exchange through funds.
2. Streamline and standardize the registration of foreign exchange and the administration of foreign exchange accounts for foreign-invested partnership enterprises.
3. Standardize the registration of capital contribution identification by foreign partners: Foreign investors are only allowed to handle the relevant foreign exchange business after they complete the registration procedures for capital contribution identification.

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