New regulations dictating the investment of funds under the management of China's insurance companies will benefit consumers and the capital market alike, offering more diverse investment opportunities in tandem with more stringent risk management guidelines.

Regulations and approval requirements concerning consolidated positions for settlement and sale of foreign exchange.

Curbing non-performing debts on the books of China's financial institutions remains one of the economy's most pressing concerns. To this end, the Ministry of Finance has issued measures requiring financial institutions to set aside provisions for debts based on their underlying risks.

The Circular allows domestic residents to set up offshore financing platform by means of special purpose companies and to participate in various equity financing activities through reverse acquisition, equity transfer, convertible bonds in international financial market. The Circular also stipulates the relevant registration and administration procedures for special purpose companies and remittance of profits, dividends, liquidation proceeds, equity transfer proceeds, and capital reduction proceeds.

The Circular provides for the minimum credit rating of short-term financing bills in which a money market fund invests, while the domestic credit rating shall prevail over international credit rating. The percentage of the investment by a money market fund in the short-term financing bills and short-term corporate bonds issued by one company may not in total exceed 10% of the net value of the fund's assets. If the credit rating of short-term financing bills held by a money market fund drops, the fund shall fully divest itself of such bills within 20 trading days.

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Compared with previous rules regarding debt provisioning, the Measures introduces greater flexibility in making the minimum 1% of year-end balance of risk assets a guideline rather than a mandatory requirement. It changes the nature of general provisions allocated from one of pre-tax deduction to a post-tax distribution of profit. The Measures allows financial institutions to set aside two types of loan loss provisions: specific provisions and special provisions. Further requirements for other categories of the asset impairment provisions, for instance bad debt provisions and provisions for impaired long-term investments, are also in place.

Penalities for registration amendment of foreign-invested companies in the PRC.