Daily Times

The government plans to investigate holdings in the country by non-resident individuals and institutions by the end of 2017 to assess how many have assets in excess of 6 million yuan (US$900,000), Yangcheng Evening News reported on Saturday. The move is in preparation for China’s plan to introduce OECD-approved Common Reporting Standards, or CRS, in September 2018, according to the State Administration of Taxation. An estimated 101 countries may introduce CRS, which involves automatic collection and sharing of financial data to try and reduce tax evasion. As such, the CRS will also track the overseas assets of Chinese nationals in countries that join the system. About 60% of China’s high-net-worth individuals own overseas assets, according to a report by a publication known as The Paper on October 21, which cited Yang Jingdong, a general manager at Ping An Securities.

Local governments get approval to run more asset management companies

Local governments will be allowed to open more asset management companies, according to a Caixin report on October 23 citing the China Banking Regulatory Commission. The regulator has also given approval for the local managers to sell non-performing assets to other institutions at a discount so the assets can be restructured. Previous rules introduced in 2013 allowed local governments to run only one asset management company and banned transfer of non-performing assets to other institutions.

Banks banned from using wealth funds for property investment Commercial banks will be banned from using wealth-management funds for speculation in the real estate market, said Shang Fulin, the chief of the China Bank Regulatory Commission, in a briefing on October 21, reported Southern Metropolis Daily on October 23. An estimated 550 billion yuan in wealth management funds went to the property sector in the first half of 2016, according to a report by China Central Depository & Clearing Co.

Ministry to spend 2 billion yuan on medical, health innovations A total of 2 billion yuan will be invested in innovations in health and sanitation sectors, according to a document released by the Health Ministry, the Technology Ministry and the Food and Drug Administration on October 14, reported Shanghai Securities Journal on October 23. The fund will expand research and development in the medical and health sectors over the next three years, said Cao Xuetao, the director of the Chinese Academy of Medical Science, at the World Robot Conference in Beijing on October 22.