Report: Rules for foreign investment to be eased

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange is planning to simplify the foreign exchange rules pertaining to foreign direct investment accounts, the Shanghai Securities Journal reported on Monday, citing an official with the administration.

The plan is another step in the country's efforts to make the yuan fully convertible for purposes related to the country's capital account and to eventually make it a global currency on par with the dollar. The plan gained momentum recently after Shenzhen, a city in Guangdong province, was selected as a place to test out allowing a freer use of the yuan.

The acts of opening or adding to foreign exchange accounts for the purpose of foreign direct investment will no longer be subject to regulatory examinations. The same will be true for transfers between different foreign exchange accounts, the newspaper said.