Finance, Tax and Accounting

People’s Bank of China Loosens RMB Trading Band

By Xiaolei Gu

Apr. 17 – The People’s Bank of China (PBC) announced this past weekend that the renminbi’s (RMB’s) trading band would be widened from April 16, 2012, allowing the currency to rise or fall each day by as much as 1 percent from the official daily rate against the U.S. dollar.

The increased flexibility of the RMB’s trading band marks an important step towards a loosening fixed foreign exchange regime in China, which previously only allowed daily fluctuations of 0.5 percent on either side of the daily fixed price set by the PBC. Continue reading →

Posted in Finance, Tax and Accounting | Tagged Currency, People's Bank of China, Renminbi, RMB Internationalization | Leave a comment

China’s Economic Figures for Q1 2012

Apr. 16 – Last week, the Chinese government released figures concerning the country’s economy, finances and foreign trade for the first quarter of 2012. The statistics show a drop in year-on-year (yoy) GDP growth from 8.9 percent to 8.1 percent.

2012 Q1 economic indexes

GDP: RMB10.8 trillion (yoy growth of 8.1 percent)
Industrial value-added growth: 11.6 percent
Industrial value-added growth for FIEs and Hong Kong/Taiwan/Macau-invested enterprises: 6.4 percent
Investment in fixed assets: RMB4.79 trillion (yoy growth of 20.9 percent)
CPI: 3.8 percent Continue reading →

Posted in Finance, Tax and Accounting | Tagged China CPI, China Economy, China Exports, China Finance, China GDP, China Imports, China Statistics, China Trade, China Trade Balance | Leave a comment

SAFE Registration Procedures and Compliance Requirements in China

By Xiaolei Gu

Apr. 9 – On February 15, 2012, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) issued the “Circular Regarding Issues Relating to Foreign Exchange Administration of Domestic Individuals’ Participation in Equity Incentive Plan of Overseas Listed Companies (huifa [2012] No.7)” (Circular 7) providing that foreigners working in China are subject to SAFE registration if they participate in any form of equity incentive plan with an overseas-listed company.

We provide a brief introduction of the revised SAFE registration procedures and compliance requirements below. Continue reading →

Posted in Finance, Tax and Accounting, Legal and Regulatory, Regulatory Update | Tagged China Compliance, Circular 7, Equity Incentives, State Administration of Foreign Exchange | Leave a comment

International Accounting Bulletin Names Dezan Shira Network Second Largest

Global billing hits US$2.6 billion in 2011

Apr. 9 – The Leading Edge Alliance (LEA Global), of which Dezan Shira & Associates are China and India members, has been ranked by International Accounting Bulletin as the second largest international association of independent accounting firms for 2012.

LEA Global is an international alliance of independently owned accounting and consulting firms. Established in 1999, The LEA has more than 180 member firms worldwide with collective annual revenues of US$2.6 billion. There are approximately 100 countries represented in the association. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Finance, Tax and Accounting | Tagged Dezan Shira & Associates, HW Fisher & Company, LEA Global, Leading Edge Alliance, SS&G Financial Services | Leave a comment

China Expands QFII Schemes to Allow Greater Foreign Investment

Apr. 5 – On Tuesday, the China Security Regulatory Commission (CSRC) announced the expansion of the country’s Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) scheme, lifting the quota that qualified international fund managers are allowed to invest in China’s offshore capital market from US$30 billion to a total of US$80 billion.

Meanwhile, the Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (RQFII) scheme was also expanded. The total amount of RMB that foreign investors can raise in Hong Kong for investment has been increased to RMB70 billion from the previous limit of RMB20 billion. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, FDI and Foreign Trade, Finance, Tax and Accounting | Tagged Foreign Institutional Investors, QFII, Renminbi, RQFII | Leave a comment

China Revises Categorization of Imported Goods and Tariff Rates

Mar. 30 – China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC) issued the newly-revised “Table of Categorization for the Imported Articles of the PRC” (“Table of Categorization”) on Wednesday, March 28. The revised categorization will be effective from April 15, 2012. The complete table, including categories of goods and their respective tariff rates, can be found below. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, FDI and Foreign Trade, Finance, Tax and Accounting, Legal and Regulatory, Markets, Regulatory Update | Tagged China Customs Duties, China Import Tariffs, China Import Tax, China Imports, China Tariffs, General Administration of Customs | Leave a comment

Shanghai Issues Trial Procedures for Consolidated CIT Payments by Headquarters

Mar. 23 – Shanghai’s state and local tax bureaus have issued the “Trial Procedures on the Filing of the Allocation Proportion of Consolidated CIT Payments by Headquarters in Shanghai (huguoshuisuo [2010] No. 10)” (“Trial Procedures”) on March 10, 2012. The Trial Procedures apply to headquarters in Shanghai that operate trans-regionally and pay CIT on a consolidated basis. It provides for the materials that these headquarters should submit for the filing of branches’ allocation proportion of CIT.

The Trial Procedures have been issued based on the “Interim Measures for the Administration of the Collection of Consolidated Payment of Corporate Income Tax (CIT) in Trans-Regional Operations (guoshuifa [2008] No.28)” (“Interim Measures”) issued by the State Administration of Taxation on March 10, 2008. Continue reading →

Posted in East China, Finance, Tax and Accounting, Legal and Regulatory, Regulatory Update | Tagged China Corporate Income Tax, China Headquarters, China Tax, Shanghai | Leave a comment

China-Australia Agree on Bilateral Currency Swap Agreement

Mar. 23 – The central banks of China and Australia signed a currency swap agreement yesterday that will allow RMB200 billion (A$30 billion) worth of local currencies to be exchanged between the two countries over three years.

The purpose of the agreement, according the People’s Bank of China, is to help strengthen financial cooperation between the two sides, boost bilateral trade and investment, and promote regional financial stability. Continue reading →