海南自由贸易账户 (hǎinán zìyóu màoyì zhànghù): Hainan free trade account system

A free trade account system was officially put into service in the China (Hainan) Pilot Free Trade Zone on Tuesday.

The Hainan free trade account system dispenses with the earlier requirement of maintaining two accounts, one for domestic transactions and the other for international transactions, replacing them with a unified domestic and foreign currency account with the renminbi as the base currency.

The Hainan free trade account system allows market entities to conveniently carry out investment, financing, and cross-border transactions applicable to the Hainan free trade zone.

The Hainan free trade account system is one of the 12 pilot programs being carried out in free trade zones aimed at promoting financial innovation, facilitating trade investment and financing and helping develop a new pattern for Hainan's comprehensive opening-up.

According to media reports, Bank of China's Hainan provincial branch and the Haikou branch of the Pudong Development Bank have taken the lead in launching the free trade accounts. Other commercial banks are training their personnel and conducting system tests, and are expected to launch free trade accounts in the first half of this year.