China issues revised currency exchange regulation

China released on Feb 19 a newly revised regulation for domestic and foreign currency exchange franchise businesses to better facilitate currency exchanges by individuals.

The revised regulation mainly focuses on further simplifying administrative approvals, optimizing business handling procedures, seeking innovations, improving the market entry and exit mechanism as well as strengthening oversight, said the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

It is expected to further reduce the costs of institutions operating the franchise businesses and will exert a positive effect on improving the business climate, forestalling financial risks and facilitating currency exchanges by individuals, said Wang Chunying, a spokesperson with the administration.

China started to pilot the franchise business scheme in Beijing and Shanghai in 2008 and expanded the scheme in 2012, which has acted as a supplementary system for currency exchanging through banks.