August 14, 2026 (InvestinChina.asia) – China’s central bank and foreign exchange regulator have jointly announced a nationwide rollout of new regulations governing cross-border fund pooling for multinational corporations (MNCs), a move designed to lower entry barriers for small and mid-sized enterprises and streamline the allocation of multi-currency capital.
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) issued the “Notice on Matters Concerning Cross-Border Centralized Operation of Domestic and Foreign Currency Funds by Multinational Corporations” on Thursday. The new framework, which takes effect on September 14, 2026, expands previous pilot programs to cover the entire country.
This initiative complements the nationwide expansion of the integrated domestic and foreign currency fund pool policy implemented in late 2025. While the integrated fund pool primarily serves large-scale multinationals with higher thresholds but greater transfer convenience, the newly expanded centralized operation framework features significantly lower eligibility requirements, thereby extending policy benefits to a broader base of small and mid-sized MNCs.
Under the new rules, quantitative entry thresholds for the centralized operation scheme are set at one-tenth of those required for the integrated fund pool. Companies need only meet either international balance of payments scale or total operating revenue criteria to qualify. For host enterprises registered in free trade zones, these thresholds are halved again, further amplifying policy incentives.
The regulation enhances operational flexibility by allowing MNCs to consolidate external debt and overseas lending quotas. Corporations can now autonomously determine pooling ratios and manage both domestic and foreign currencies through a single account, facilitating group-level coordination and flexible utilization at the subsidiary level. The framework also encourages priority use of the renminbi, which offers greater headroom for cross-border fund transfers under the macro-prudential management system.
Administrative procedures have been streamlined as well. Filing authority has been decentralized from provincial SAFE branches to local bureaus where the host enterprise is registered, reducing bureaucratic friction. Concurrently, the notice clarifies operational standards and post-transaction oversight requirements to mitigate risks associated with cross-border capital flows.
Industry experts note key structural differences between the two frameworks. The centralized operation model applies a 0.6 coefficient for overseas lending quota consolidation—compared to 0.8 under the integrated pool—and permits host enterprises to conduct centralized receipts and payments on behalf of domestic members with offshore entities. In contrast, the integrated pool allows host companies to act on behalf of both domestic and offshore member companies.
Pilot programs launched since 2021 in regions including Beijing and Guangdong have garnered strong corporate approval. Regulators expect the nationwide implementation to materially enhance trade and investment facilitation, building on China’s ongoing efforts to optimize its cross-border capital management infrastructure.