The Chinese government has eased the rules for converting hard currencies into the RMB in Shenzhen, the special economic zone set up four decades ago to spearhead China’s economic reforms, taking another major step in sharpening the city’s competitiveness in southern China, said the South China Morning Post.
Under a pilot programme, effective within the city limits of Shenzhen, foreign exchange will be allowed to be converted into RMB without prior permission by the banks.
The approvals system will involve spot checks, a change from the previous process that required every currency conversion to be preapproved, according to the reports. The time needed for the process will be reduced to minutes, from several hours, while the documentation will be cut to a single sheet of paper, according to Shanghai Securities News.
The new regulation, which would make it easier for any company or individual involved in the pilot program based in Shenzhen to purchase RMB is a significant incentive to nurture Shenzhen into a global benchmark for competitiveness and innovation by the middle of the century, reported the SCMP.