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China has recently passed new laws requiring enterprises to disclose important information which the public can access. On October 1, 2014, new rules came into effect, Provisional Rules on Enterprise Information Disclosure (企业信息公示暂行条例) (“Enterprise Information Disclosure Rules”).  One reason behind this new legislation is China’s desire to establish a national credit system founded upon transparency of information relating to registered enterprises.  A national credit system will allow the public to access and rely upon important enterprise information when making investment decisions.
Continue Reading More Transparency- New Enterprise Information Disclosure Rules Take Effect

The State Council has released the Several Opinions on Promoting Fair Competition and Maintaining Regular Order in the Market (the “Opinions”) (in Chinese, “关于促进市场公平竞争维护市场正常秩序的若干意见”) on July 8, 2014.
Continue Reading State Council Released Opinions on Promoting Fair Competition and Maintaining Regular Order in the Market

On June 17, 2014, the Ministry of Commerce (the “MOFCOM”), the major regulator of foreign investment in China, issued the Notice on Improving Foreign Investment Review Administration (商务部关于改进外资审核管理工作的通知) (the “MOFCOM Notice”) to make it clear that registered capital contribution requirements for foreign invested enterprises (“FIEs”)[1] have been relaxed.
Continue Reading MOFCOM to Confirm Relaxation of Registered Capital Contribution Requirements for FIEs

Introduction

On May 19, 2014, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (“SAFE”) released Notice on the Promulgation of Foreign Exchange Administration Rules on Cross-border Guarantee (国家外汇管理局关于发布《跨境担保外汇管理规定》的通知) (“Circular 29”) with a view to promoting cross-border guarantee activities and convertibility under capital accounts. Circular 29 took effect on June 1, 2014 and twelve[1] other SAFE regulations regarding cross-border guarantee will be abrogated.…

Continue Reading SAFE to Relax Foreign Exchange Control over Cross-border Guarantee

The Regulations on Supervision and Administration of Medical Devices was amended and promulgated by the State Council on March 7th, 2014, effective June 1st, 2014. The last version is from 2000. The following highlights the changes that have been made.
Continue Reading Changes of the Amended Regulations on Supervision and Administration of Medical Devices

On February 7, 2014, the State Council issued Notice on Reform Plans of Registration Policies of Registered Capital, GuoFa [2014] No. 7 (the “Notice”) providing guidelines on business registration reforms of companies in China.  The objective of the reform is to relax the administration on market entry and optimize the business investment environment.
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On February 19, 2014 the state-level General Administration for Industry and Commerce (the “AIC“) issued a notice to officially cancel the annual inspection for all types of enterprises including domestic entities, representative offices, branches and foreign invested entities since March 1st, 2014. Following this state-level AIC notice, many local AICs in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Hubei and Sichuan have also published their own respective notice of new rules and procedures governing their annual inspection this year.
Continue Reading New PRC Policies on Annual Inspection

The government is moving in a direction to make the corporate formation and supervision process more user-friendly.  Two key changes are expected to happen in the near future.  The first is the abolishment of the registered capital requirement which has been a source of frustration for foreign investors and especially small-to-medium sized enterprises that seek to capture the market opportunities.  Secondly, the government plans to reform the current annual inspection process, which requires that all enterprises in China go through a detailed review process every year and at the risk of losing a business license, to become an annual reporting process.  These changes are intended to make life easier for enterprises, including foreign investors.
Continue Reading China to Relax the Corporate Registered Capital System and Reform the Annual Inspection Process

On October 25, 2013, Premier Li Keqiang chaired an executive meeting of the State Council, and announced during the meeting that China is going to push forward the reform of the company registration regime, which will support a faster pace of economic reform in China and “arouse social investment vitality”.
Continue Reading “Unprecedented” Reform of Company Registration Regime in China

On April 28, 2013, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (the “SAFE”) promulgated the Administrative Measures of Registration of Foreign Debts (the “Foreign Debt Measures”) together with the detailed Operational Guidelines of Administration of Foreign Debt Registration (the “Guidelines”). Both regulations will be implemented from May 13, 2013. The Foreign Debt Measures and the Guidelines have simplified some of the foreign debt approval requirements and clarified previous uncertainties in the practice of foreign debt registration and administration. The key changes in the Foreign Debt Measures and Guidelines are as follows:…
Continue Reading China Releases Administrative Measures on Foreign Debt Registration