Shanghai FTZ allows an increase in plot ratio of land, guidelines on articles of association are revised to accommodate special voting rights and foreign accounting firms are required to make filings for auditing of bond offerings.
Heng An Standard Life Insurance becomes the first foreign-invested pensions insurer to win CBIRC approval; Shanghai announces plans for more corporate tax cuts this year; and China mulls closure of virtual currency mining outfits.
Guiding catalogue of industrial structure encourages big data and AI technology, banks' liability for asset management is protected and draft regulations are issued on carbon trading.
Following the tragic Yancheng explosion, China is reviewing its related safety regulations; the government released the names of 197 information providers now registered in the use of blockchain-based technology; and laws controlling production of the drug Fentanyl have now been extended to all its derivatives.
Interim measures are offered in mainland China for Hong Kong arbitration cases, repayment sequence is clarified for bankruptcy cases and full disclosure of VIE structure is required for listing on the Science and Technology Board.
China's policy makers have boosted efforts to tackle unfair competition in recent months, but foreign companies remain skeptical of whether policy and legislation will actually translate into practice.
China's State Council plans to improve competition by establishing a fair play review system; food safety violations will incur much stiffer penalties, and the People's Bank of China's governor says domestic and foreign financial firms will soon play by the same rule book.
VAT rates are lowered, commercial banks are required to disclose NSFR information and advisory services are encouraged for the entirety of construction projects.
