Companies in Shanghai's free trade zone can freely convert foreign currencies into yuan under steps to ease curbs on capital account and facilitate corporate money management, said the Shanghai headquarters of the People's Bank of China.
Non-financial companies are now allowed to convert foreign currencies they borrowed offshore into yuan as they intended, the central bank said yesterday.
Previously, firms had to show proof of intent to use the funds before they could convert.
The new measure aims to give companies greater flexibility in choosing when to convert to better match their business needs, said Zhang Xin, deputy head of PBOC's Shanghai headquarters.
The measure is among four new rules unveiled yesterday to be the first batch of reforms practiced after the central government in October released a guide for FTZ financial reforms.
Other rules now allow qualified companies in the zone to handle foreign currency income and payment, lower the requirement for multinational corporations to use centralized cash pool services, and allow banks in the zone to offer yuan and foreign currency derivatives services to overseas firms.
