RiseofChina鈥檚mobilepaymentsin2017
SoaringMobilePayments
Chinesebankssawasurgeinmobilepaymentslastyear,officialdatashowedearlyMarch.
Bankinginstitutionshandled203trillionyuan($32trillion)inmobilepaymentsin2017,up28.8percent,accordingtothePeople鈥檚BankofChina.
Atotalof37.6billionpaymentsweremadethroughmobilebankingservicesintheperiod,anincreaseof46.1percent.
China鈥檚mobilepaymentsectorhasseenrapiddevelopment,drivenbyimprovedInternetinfrastructure,increaseduseofmobilephonesandinnovationoffinancialservices.
BoostingForeignInvestment
Chinawilltakeaseriesofnewmeasuresthisyeartosolicitmoreforeigninvestment,NingJizhe,deputyheadoftheNationalDevelopmentandReformCommission,saidearlyMarch.
Thenegativelistapproachtomarketentry,whichstatessectorsandbusinessesthatareofflimittoforeigninvestment,willbeexpandednationwide.Morefavorablepoliciesconcerningcapitaltransferandlanduse,whichareenjoyedbydomesticinvestors,willbegiventoforeignfirmswhentheyinvestinChina鈥檚central,westernandnortheasternregions,Ningsaid.
ForeigndirectinvestmentintheChinesemainlandhit$131billionlastyear.
CuttingTaxes
Chinawillreducetaxesonbusinessesandindividualsbymorethan800billionyuan($126billion)in2018,PremierLiKeqiangsaidearlyMarch.
Chinawillprioritizeloweringratesinmanufacturingandtransportation,andraisethethresholdforannualsalesrevenueforsmall-scaletaxpayers,saidLi.
Fargreaternumbersofsmalllow-profitbusinesseswillseetheirincometaxhalved,andtheceilingsondeductiblebusinesspurchasesofinstrumentsandequipmentwillbesignificantlyraised,Lisaid.Morelogisticscompanieswillenjoypreferentialtaxtreatmentontheiruseoflandforstoragefacilities.
Atotalof918.6billionyuan($141.3billion)wassavedlastyearviaChina鈥檚ongoingreformtoreplacebusinesstaxwithvalue-addedtax.
TighteningIllegalFundraising
Chinawillstrengthensupervisionmechanismforillegalfundraising,holdlocalgovernmentofficialsaccountable,andimprovethelegalsystemandpubliceducationin2018.Keyfieldsincludingonlinelending,propertyandruralcooperativeswillbeundergreaterscrutiny.
Risingillegalfundraisinghasbeencontainedthankstoeffortsagainsthigh-profilecases.Chinasaw5,197illegalfundraisingcasesin2016,involving251.1billionyuan($39.8billion),down14.48percentand0.11percentyearonyear,respectively,officialdatashowed.Despitetheprogress,easterncoastalareas,centralandwesternregionswithlargepopulationsarestillvulnerabletofraud.
Internetfinancehasgrownasinvestorsseekhigherreturnsthanbankdeposits.Butriskshavepiledupasregulationscannotkeepupwiththepaceofdevelopment.
SupportingForeignBanks
China鈥檚bankingregulatorhascutredtapeforforeignbanks.
TheChinaBankingRegulatoryCommissionrevisedrulesforforeignbanks,scrappingapprovalproceduresforfouritemsincludingoverseaswealthmanagementproductsandportfolioinvestmentfunds.Banksonlyneedtoreporttheirservicestoauthoritiesratherthanobtainingapprovalinadvance.
Procedureswerealsosimplifiedforforeignlenderstosetupnewbranches,appointexecutivesandissuebonds.ThenewpoliciesbecameeffectiveonFebruary13.Therevisionalsoclarifiedproceduresandapplicationmaterialsforforeign-fundedbankstoinvestindomesticbankinginstitutions.ThecommissionsaiditwouldcontinuetosupportforeignbankstoentertheChinesemarket,promisingafairandtransparentpolicyenvironment.