As of February, Chinese citizens will be allowed to buy as much as US$50,000 in foreign currency every year, up from the current US$20,000 limit. New rules released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange are part of a number of measures aimed at offsetting the one-way flow of cash created by China's rapid growth, the Wall Street Journal reported. In a separate announcement, the People's Bank of China said it would tighten credit with a fourth hike in reserve requirements for banks in less than a year. The new increase of 0.5%, which kicks in January 15, takes the reserve requirement to 9.5%. Although the move could slow the country's stock market for a brief period it is unlikely to have a lasting effect, the newspaper reported.
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