Weekend Economists Down Under May 23-26, 2014

[Demeter]

16. China announces restricted capital account opening steps in Shanghai FTZ

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/22/china-economy-ftz-idUSL3N0O80S320140522

- China's central bank announced measures on Thursday to create a closely managed opening in the country's capital account for the Shanghai free trade zone (FTZ) in a cautious but critical step towards allowing full convertibility of China's currency. The measures allow special privileged accounts - known as tagged accounts - that can be used to conduct transactions only in the zone, and are isolated from transfers to accounts outside the zone. Economists say these accounts are needed if the FTZ is to allow further financial liberalisation such as freeing up deposit rates and allowing Chinese individuals in the zone to invest offshore. Without a way to distinguish between FTZ and non-FTZ accounts, waves of arbitrage would quickly make the financial reforms in the FTZ de facto national reforms.

In detailed rules written to guide implementation of a set of principles issued in December, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) allowed institutions and individuals in the FTZ to set up specially tagged bank accounts in the zone, effective immediately, its Shanghai headquarters said in a statement. These accounts will be allowed to exercise privileges reserved for designated zone residents, both individuals and firms, including bringing money in and out of the zone from abroad and investing in offshore markets, according to the statement published on the FTZ headquarters website, shanghai.pbc.gov.cn. However, the pace of implementation of specific reforms will remain restrained and not all reforms will be made available at once.

"There will no free convertibility, but managed convertibility," Zhang Xin, a spokesman for the PBOC's Shanghai headquarters, was quoted as saying, adding that the liberalisation would be conducted in a step-by-step fashion...