China Regulatory Brief: NOC Annual Reporting, China-Spain Trade Deals, New Measures for Domestic Delivery

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China-Regulatory-Brief

Hong Kong, Macau Professionals Permitted to be Partners in Accounting Firms in the Shanghai FTZ

On September 17, the Shanghai Municipal Government released the “Measures for Accounting Professionals in Hong Kong and Macau to be Partners in Accounting Firms in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (Trial, Hu Fu Ban Fa [2014] No.43),” which will be effective October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2016. The Measures stipulates that accounting firms with partners from Hong Kong and Macau should meet the following conditions:

  • The number of partners from mainland China should be over 51 percent of the total partners;
  • The chief account (partner) must be a mainland partner; and
  • The Hong Kong/Macau professionals must work in the firm for at least 180 days each year.

China and Spain Sign Business Deals Worth US$3.8 Billion

On September 25, China and Spain signed business contracts worth approximately US$4 billion (3.2 billion euros) at a ceremony in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy visited China last week and signed a total of 14 deals with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, covering cooperation in areas including the film industry, nuclear power, telecommunication, finance, sea water desalination and wind power. Rajoy also urged the two sides to strengthen cooperation in the food and consumer industries. Furthermore, the two countries made commitments to continue working together for the development of EU-China relations.

China Implements Annual Reporting System for NOC

China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIS) recently announced that National Organization Code (NOC) annual inspection system will soon be replaced by an annual reporting system. Enterprises and organizations will be required to submit an annual report containing the organization’s basic information, including its NOC, name, registered address, legal person or person in-charge, type of organization, certificate validity and authorized department. In China, over 40 million NOC have been issued, covering most organizations or enterprises established in the country.

Cross-Border Payment and Clearing System Established in Shanghai

On September 25, the vice president of the People’s Bank of China (PBC) Liu Shiyu officially announced during the CCP12 (the Global Association of Central Counterparties) meeting that China’s cross-border RMB payment and clearing system will be located in Shanghai. The CCP12, a global organization founded by 12 institutions in 2001, has long been studying the best clearing and risk management practices for adoption. To date, the membership of CCP12 has expanded to 34 organizations, operating across Africa, Australia, the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

China to Further Open Up the Domestic Express Delivery Market

On September 24, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang held a State Council meeting in which it was determined to further liberalize China’s domestic delivery industry to foreign investment. Business licenses will be issued to eligible foreign delivery enterprises following the approval of their business scope and location.Following this, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) released the “Opinions on Improving the Development of Trade Logistics (Shang Liu Tong Han [2014] No.790)” which aims at boosting the development of logistics enterprises and supporting the construction of offshore economic and trade cooperation zones for trade logistics.

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