BEIJING--China has formally approved plans to set up three more
free trade zones in a trial program intended to pave the way for
liberalization of the country's financial sector.
The Communist Party's powerful Politburo approved the plan for
the three zones in Guangdong and Fujian provinces in the south and
the big northern municipality of Tianjin, the official Xinhua News
Agency said on Tuesday.
The three new zones will join their counterpart in Shanghai,
which was opened with much fanfare in September 2013 but has so far
failed to convince many foreign companies that it has ushered in an
era of more liberalized investment rules.
An annual survey of more than 370 members of the American
Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai released this month found that
almost three-quarters of the respondents believed the China
(Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone offered no tangible benefits for
their business. Around half said they hadn't noticed any
change.
Chinese authorities rolled out what they called a "negative
list" of investment guidelines--essentially allowing foreign
companies to invest in any sector that doesn't specifically bar
them. But its list of negatives was so long that many foreign
companies were disappointed.
Chinese officials have said that the Shanghai free trade zone
has simplified foreign-exchange procedures and made it easier for
companies operating in the zone to borrow funds offshore. It has
also allowed Microsoft Corp. and Sony Corp. to offer videogame
consoles in China for the first time in more than a decade.
Officials maintain that more liberalization lies ahead as China
moves gradually toward an easing of its foreign exchange control
regime, which limits currency conversions.
The Xinhua report didn't give any fresh details on the
regulations covering the three new zones.
Grace Zhu contributed to this article.
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