SAFE to support mergers and acquisitions aligned with national strategies

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange ( SAFE) aims to proactively guide market entities to invest overseas at a reasonable level, in particular, to support national strategic planning such as the Belt and Road initiative and the upgrading of domestic industrial structure and enhancing technological progress, a senior SAFE official said.

SAFE has also vowed to improve cross- border capital flow management, safeguard national financial security and support cross- border mergers and acquisitions aligned with national strategic planning.

Yang Guozhong, deputy director of SAFE, said that it is necessary to balance the relationship between convenience and risk prevention, and to consolidate the foundation for balanced development of crossborder capital outflows, accord- ing to an article published in China Forex magazine.

To achieve the objective of maintaining a balance of payments, the upstream and downstream departments are required to assess the situation, review the timing and better coordinate, Yang said in the article.

To prevent cross- border capital flows, different departments should implement the consensus reached and contin- ue to strengthen cooperation, he said.

SAFE will continue to expand a two- way opening up of financial markets, optimize domestic bond markets, continue to integrate China’s bond market into the international index, and implement infrastructure interoperability with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under the bond connect project, as well as some other follow- up measures, according to the article.

SAFE has set the dual objectives of continuously improving the capability to supervise foreign exchange management, and taking both convenience and risk prevention into account, Yang said.