China revises rules to monitor cross-border forex deals

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has revised rules for local individuals and firms to report cross-border financial deals besides overseas assets and debts, the cabinet said on Friday, a step that analysts say aims to monitor cross-border money flows.

Foreigners and foreign firms who make "economic transactions" inside China will also be required to report to the foreign exchange authorities, say the revised rules published on the central government's website, www.gov.cn.

The revised regulations, effective from the start of next year, will be in line with the statistical standards of the International Monetary Fund, the government said.

Official news agency Xinhua quoted experts as saying the new measures would improve China's statistics on its balance of payments and help better monitor cross-border capital flows.

"Uncertain factors in China's international receipts and payments are increasing, and irregular cross-border capital flows have become more frequent, so it is necessary to improve the declaration mechanism," economist Ding Zhijie, at the University of International Business and Economics, told Xinhua.

That would aid monitoring by the authorities, he added. (Reporting by Kevin Yao; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)