In the News: First Foreign Pensions Insurer Approved; Shanghai Corporate Tax Cuts Considered; and Bitcoin Mining Ban Weighed

Heng An Standard Life wins approval as China's first foreign pensions insurer

China's first foreign-invested pensions insurance company has been approved by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, or CBIRC, last month. Heng An Standard Life Insurance is a 50:50 joint venture between the U.K.'s Standard Life Aberdeen and China's Tianjin TEDA International, and was originally set up in 2003. The company offers a range of health, life and savings products.

The CBIRC also approved two applications from foreign insurers for greater market access and expansion of their business scope, according to the government agency. The new pension insurance company will be the ninth pension insurance entity in the country. In 2018, China raised the ceiling for foreign ownership in the insurance industry to 51 percent, and will remove the cap altogether after three years, according to a statement published by the CBIRC on April 27, 2018.

More from CLP: The China Insurance Industry: Key Updates and Trends Affecting Foreign Investment; Implementing Rules for the PRC Administration of Foreign-invested Insurance Companies Regulations (Revised); Measures for the Administration of Resident Representative Organizations in China of Foreign Insurance Institutions (Revised); China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, Decision on Repealing and Revising Certain Rules and Regulations

Shanghai mulls tax cuts to help struggling companies

Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong announced more tax cuts and fee reductions this year as part of the municipal government's efforts to relieve the burden on businesses. According to a China Daily report, the tax cuts and fee reductions, which are expected to exceed Rmb100 billion, or $14.9 billion, will result in a 10 percent reduction in municipal fiscal income. However, Ying told reporters that the move will help spur economic growth and revitalize Shanghai's private sector. The local government has already implemented a value-added tax reform since 2012 worth Rmb324.8 billion, resulting in cost savings for companies, according to the report. Shanghai's tax cuts are in line with the central government's large-scale tax reduction decision in March. Shanghai, which is expecting its slowest economic growth this year since 1990, has pledged to further open up its market to global investors.

More from CLP: In the News: Insider Trading, Tax Reductions and Commercial Real Estate; Legislation roundup: FDI, banks, R&D tax and Shanghai housing; Circular on Expanding the Scope of Application of the Policy of Provisional Deferral of Withholding Income Tax on Direct Investments Made by Foreign Investors Using Distributed Profits; New Tax Credit Rule Promotes Outbound Investment; Announcement on Several Issues Concerning the Implementation of Tax Agreements

China seeks to outlaw virtual currency mining

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planning agency, has identified the mining of Bitcoin and other virtual currencies as among those activities that it wishes to eliminate. The NDRC has released the revised list, which was first published in 2011, for public comment. The amended list adds cryptocurrency mining to the 450 activities the NDRC says should be phased out as they do not adhere to relevant laws and regulations; are unsafe; and waste resources or pollute the environment.

Although Bitcoin trading has been banned since September 2017, cryptocurrency mining continues in China despite efforts to phase out the activity. Experts said Bitcoin trading in China can only be eliminated if mining—the source of the virtual currency—is also stopped. The NDRC did not specify a target date for the elimination of mining, but it has given the public until May 7, 2019 to comment on the proposal.

More from CLP: Legislation roundup: Industrial catalogue, asset management and carbon trading; China's New Regulations on Blockchain Information Services; Legislation roundup: Private funds, ICOs, and interbank NCDs; In the news: President Xi promotes global trade at Davos, U.S. companies feel more unwelcome in China and the PBOC looks into bitcoin; In the news: The NDRC and MOFCOM unveil a new negative list, the CSRC revises securities firms' capital requirements and all officials must take a legal exam

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