Laws of the People's Republic of China

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange

Supplementary Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Relevant Matters about Investing in the B Stocks by the Domestic Residents

HuiFa [2001] No.31

February 23, 2001

All the head banks of domestic-funded designated foreign exchange bank:

The relevant supplementary matters are now notified as follows in order to implement the Circular on Several Matters about Investing in the B shares by the Domestic Residents (hereinafter referred to as the Circular), and to do good management of the foreign exchange invested in the B-shares by the domestic residents:

1.

The source of the capital invested in the B-shares

(1)

The capital transferred into the B-shares account and used in the B-shares trading by the individual domestic resident shall only be his (her) exchange bank savings (including the cash account and the bill account) deposited in the domestic commercial banks.

(2)

The capital transferred into the B-shares account and used in the B-shares trading by the non-resident shall only be that he (she) remits directly from abroad or that he (she) deposits in the domestic sight bill account.

(3)

Neither the individual domestic resident nor the non-resident may use foreign cash to engage in the B-shares trading.

(4)

The capital deposited from February 19, 2001 (excluding February 19) to June 1, 2001 may not be used in the B-shares trading.

(5)

The capital that was deposited before February 19, 2001 but was transferred after it (including the fixed deposit to the current deposit and the current deposit to the fixed deposit) shall be allowed to be transferred into the B-shares trading.

(6)

The capital that was transferred into the personal foreign cash account of the individual domestic resident from the B Stock security account of the securities institutions (including eligible securities companies, trust companies and their branches, hereinafter the same) shall not be allowed to be used in the B-shares trading before June 1, 2001. All banks shall examine strictly the kind and the deposited date of the transferred capital of the individual resident and strictly forbid the back signing of the account-opening date and the deposited date.

2.

The procedures of capital transfer by the resident

(1)

Before opening a B-shares account in securities institutions, the individual domestic resident shall transfer foreign cash equal to not less than US$1000, from his (her) personal foreign exchange account, to the B-shares security account opened in the same city or in the same bank by the securities institutions.

(2)

All the foreign capital of the individual domestic resident deposited in different currencies and in different branches of the same bank in the same city may be transferred into the B-shares security account of the securities institutions.

(3)

When the individual domestic resident transferring the foreign capital from his (her) foreign exchange account to the B Stock security account, the transfer between different banks or cities is not allowed. The transfer of the foreign capital that is not used in the B-shares trading by the individual domestic resident shall still conform to the provisions of the current foreign exchange control, and all banks shall deal with it sticking to relevant provisions, transferring only between accounts with the same title.

(4)

The title of the account from which the foreign capital is transferred out shall be the name of the B-shares trader himself (herself), and the title of the B-shares security account into which the capital is transferred shall be the title of the securities institution in which the B-shares security account of the B-shares trader is opened.

(5)

The transfer of the foreign exchange shall be done by the individual domestic resident himself (herself), with his (her) ID Card, and shall not be done by any other trusted person.

3.

The confirmation of the identity

(1)

The valid identity certification of the individual domestic resident shall be his (her) ID Card.

(2)

The valid identity certification of the non-resident shall be his (her) valid foreign passport. Those who have other identity certification shall treated as the resident.

4.

The account opening of the securities institutions

(1)

A securities institution may open separately an US$ B-shares security account and a HK$ one in different branches of the same commercial bank in the same city. The institution may, at most, open separately one US$ account and one HK$ account, and no account of other currencies is allowed.

(2)

Where the currency in the foreign exchange account is inconsistent with that in the B-shares security account and a currency transfer is needed, the bank shall convert according to the quoted price of the foreign exchange at the very day of transfer.

(3)

The B-shares security account opened in the bank by the securities institutions shall be the sight bill account. Therefore, when the bank transferring the foreign cash deposit of the individual domestic resident to the B-shares security account, it shall go through the cash-to-bill procedure at the meanwhile.

(4)

If the securities institutions need to open a B-shares security account in the domestic foreign-funded financial institutions, they shall, according to relevant current provisions, report for approval to the State administration of foreign exchange, and no account may be opened without approval.

(5)

After opening the B-shares security account legally, the securities institutions of all provinces themselves shall publicize the opening through the local media, and shall report to the local foreign exchange bureau for archivist purposes within 3 days after the opening. When putting to arvhives, the securities institutions shall provide the title of the opening institution, the title of the opening bank and the list of the account number of the new-opened foreign exchange account, as well as the relevant copies of account certificate with the official seal of the sales department of the bank.

5.

The capital withdrawal of the B-shares holders

(1)

When the individual domestic resident withdrawing the capital for the B-shares trading (including such profits as interest and dividend of the stock, etc.) from the B-shares market, the capital shall, no matter that the original capital invested in the B-shares market was transferred out from the cash account or from the sight bill account, be only transferred to his (her) old domestic cash account or to the newly-opened cash account, and the resident himself (herself) shall go through relevant procedures with his (her) ID Card.

(2)

When the non-resident withdrawing the capital for the B-shares trading (including such profits as interest and dividend of the stock, etc.), he (she) may directly remit it abroad or deposit it into his (her) domestic cash account or sight bill account, and if the amount of the capital remitted exceeds US$50,000, the bank shall report the title of the receiving bank and the name of the receiver to the local foreign exchange bureau for record within 3 working days.

(3)

No individual domestic resident or non-resident may withdraw foreign cash directly from his (her) B-shares account.

6.

The operating qualification of the securities institutions

(1)

Those securities institutions that have the Permission for Operating the Foreign Exchange Business and the Certificate for Operating the Foreign-funded Stock shall be entitled to keep on brokering business of the B-shares, and their security sales departments in all provinces shall also have the right to engage in this business, and they themselves shall open the B-shares security account according to the provisions of the Circular (To open the B-shares security account in the domestic foreign-funded bank shall conform to Paragraph 4 of Article 4 of this Circular.)

(2)

For those without the Permission for Operating the Foreign Exchange Business and the Certificate for Operating the Foreign-funded Stock, if the subordinate sales department of which has the valid Permission for Operating the Foreign Exchange Business and the Certificate for Operating the Foreign-funded Stock, and has already engaged in the B-shares business, the department shall have the power to keep on this business, and shall open the B-shares security account according to the provisions of the Circular (To open the B-shares security account in the domestic foreign-funded bank shall conform to Paragraph 4 of Article 4 of this Circular.

(3)

For those securities institutions as well as their branches that obtained the B-shares trading seat at Shanghai Stock Exchange or at Shenzhen Stock Exchange before February 23, 2001, if they have not gone through the procedure of renewing for the Permission for Engagement in the Foreign Exchange Business and the Certificate for Managing the Foreign-funded Stock, they shall have the power to open the B-shares security account, according to the provisions of this Circular and with the above mentioned permission and certificate as well as the certification of the B-shares trading seat produced by Shanghai Stock Exchange or by Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

(4)

For the securities institution that was rearranged or the title of which was changed, if it has already engaged in the brokering business of the B-shares, it shall be entitled to open the B-shares security account, according to the provisions of the Circular and with the Permission for Engagement in the Foreign Exchange Business and the Certificate for Managing the Foreign-funded Stock obtained before the rearrangement or the title changing, and with the approving documents about its rearrangement or title changing produced by relevant authorities.

(5)

For those trust companies that have the Legal Person Permission of Financial Institutions, when the security sales departments of which opening the B-shares security account in the domestic commercial bank, they may use the Legal Person Permission of Financial Institutions instead of the Permission for Engagement in the Foreign Exchange Business, at the same time, they shall provide the copies of the Legal Person Permission of Financial Institutions and the Certificate for Managing the Foreign-funded Stock of the parent company. The opening of the B-shares security account by the securities institutions and their sales departments mentioned above do not need the pre-examination of the State administration of foreign exchange. Other securities institutions without the Certificate for Managing the Foreign-funded Stock and their branches may not engage in any foreign exchange business including the B-shares brokering.

7.

The qualification of the banks and their branches for the operation of the B-shares business Those banks that have the right to open B-shares security accounts for the securities institutions shall conform to the following conditions:

(1)

They shall be approved by the People's Bank of China to operate the business of foreign exchange deposit and foreign exchange remittance.

(2)

They shall be able to meet the request of clearing time limit of the B-shares trading, which is T+3 at present.

8.

The statistics of the foreign exchange account

(1)

Starting from February, the banks shall add the "307 B-shares Security Account" to the item "Total Capital Account" of the Statistics Report of the Foreign Exchange Account submitted to the foreign exchange bureaus, for the purpose of making statistics of the remaining sum and its changing in the B-shares security account of the securities institutions.

(2)

During the period between Feb 26, 2001 and June 1, 2001, all the head bank of domestic-funded designated foreign exchange banks shall fax every week to the Department of International Income and Expenses under the State administration of foreign exchange the remaining sum at the beginning of the period and at the end of the period in the foreign exchange account of the individual domestic resident of the whole bank system, and the telephone number is 010-68402301,the fax number is 010-68402303.

9.

The banks shall strengthen the examination of the transfer of the foreign capital of individuals, and shall forbid "depositing public money in the name of individuals", that is, investing the capital of institutions in the B-shares market to gamble in the name of individuals; they shall also forbid individuals to make use of various pay orders, such as the foreign currency credit card or the bank bill, etc., to transfer foreign exchange for laundering or for evasion or arbitration of exchanges; for those who illegally trade in exchanges, who engage in the B-shares trading through illegal channel or using illegal capital, or who commit evasion or arbitration of exchanges, the banks shall report in time to the foreign exchange administrations.

10.

With a view to helping all banks develop this business successfully and to guaranteeing the smooth running of the B-shares investment by the individual domestic resident, the State administration of foreign exchange will set up consulting hot lines at the head office, from Feb 24, 2001, to answer questions brought up by all parent commercial banks, all head offices of the securities institutions and all branches of the foreign exchange bureaus. The telephone number is:010-68402181, and the everyday consulting time is 8:00-19:00. At the meanwhile, all branches of the foreign exchange bureaus will provide the same consulting services. If the branches of all commercial banks, the branches of all securities companies or the individual residents have questions or suggestions, they shall connect with the local foreign exchange bureaus. All parent banks are expected to inform their own subordinates of this circular, and to urge them to stick to those provision.