Beijing eases foreign investment rules

China has shifted the approvals process for some foreign investments to local governments in an attempt to spur declining foreign investment, the Wall Street Journal reported. A statement issued Thursday by the Ministry of Commerce said that foreign businesses setting up an investment company with less than US$100 million in registered capital will only need approval from local commerce bureaus. Foreign investments previously required both local and ministry-level approvals. Local commerce bureaus have also been authorized to review plans by foreign-invested automakers to expand production capacity. In addition, these local bureaus can now approve foreign acquisitions of local companies if the deal value is less than US$100 million. The Commerce Ministry said the new rules took effect last week.