In the News: A-Share Market Open to Foreign Investors; Third Internet Court for China

October 01, 2018 | BY

Jacelyn Johnson

CSRC recently approved regulation allowing foreign investors in its A-share market; China's third internet court opens its doors in Guangzhou.

China Opens A-Share Market to Foreign Investors

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) have recently approved a regulation amendment allowing foreigners in China to open A-share securities accounts. Since the amendment came into force on Sept. 15, many foreign investors have already taken the opportunity to put their money into shares in the old-age care, automation and robotics sectors, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency.

According to relevant regulations, foreigners who are eligible for an A-share securities account are those who work overseas for a Chinese A-share listed company and enjoy share-based compensation or those that currently work in China. Also, foreign investors should be from countries whose securities regulators have established regulatory cooperation mechanisms with the CSRC. China has signed about 68 memorandums of corporation and understanding with 62 countries and regions around the world.

According to the State Council's report, the first batch of foreign investors are predominantly from the U.S., Japan or Australia. Securities traders in China are taking conscious efforts to put in place new regulations, and upgrading their platforms and apps to ensure the platforms are bilingual, and produce reports in English to encourage foreign investors.

Third Internet Court Launched in Guangzhou

China launched its third internet court, in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Sept. 28, following the first internet court which opened in Hangzhou last year and the second internet court that was opened in Beijing last month. The Chinese government is taking active measures to deal with the growing number of online related disputes.

The Guangzhou Internet Court is designed to handle civil cases involving internet-related disputes such as online shopping contract disputes, online loan disputes, copyright infringement lawsuits, domain name disputes, internet defamation, and other administrative lawsuits.

The internet court will allow litigants access to more efficient and faster legal services in the court. They will be able to follow their lawsuits via the court's website and attend case hearings online, and judges will be able to communicate with parties through the online platforms including reviewing evidences. The online hearings can also be accessed through the court's smartphone application or via messaging app WeChat.

The aim of these internet courts is to deal with the growing number of internet-related disputes across the country, and to explore how to solve them using advanced technology.

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