China Expands Cross-Border Multi-Currency Fund Pooling Rules Nationwide

The People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange announced the nationwide expansion of centralized cross-border multi-currency fund operations for multinational corporations, effective September 14. The policy, previously piloted in Beijing and Guangdong, significantly eases entry criteria, halving qualification thresholds for firms located in Pilot Free Trade Zones and delegating filing approvals to local foreign exchange branches. By the end of June, the pilot had covered more than 260 multinational groups and over 5,500 member enterprises.

The nationwide rollout provides standard multinational companies with greater flexibility to deploy domestic and foreign capital across borders, reducing currency fragmentation, lowering funding costs, and accelerating cash turnaround times.

China's central bank and foreign exchange regulator have expanded a streamlined cross-border fund management framework nationwide, lowering eligibility thresholds and cutting administrative friction for multinational companies. On August 14, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) issued a joint notice officially extending the pilot program for centralized cross-border multi-currency fund operations from Beijing and Guangdong (including Shenzhen) to the entire country. The regulation will take effect on September 14. The policy specifically targets general multinational corporations, offering simplified record-filing procedures and reduced entry barriers compared to the separate integrated cash pooling program for large multinationals, which was rolled out nationwide in December 2025. According to SAFE, as of late June, more than 260 multinationals had participated in the pilot program, covering over 5,500 domestic and overseas member entities. Under the newly expanded framework, multinational groups only need to satisfy either the foreign currency or the renminbi qualification standards rather than both. For lead enterprises registered in China's Pilot Free Trade Zones, the financial entry barriers are halved. Administrative processes have also been streamlined. Multinationals can submit filings through a unified window, with approval authority delegated to the municipal or provincial SAFE branch where the lead entity resides. When member enterprise modifications do not affect foreign debt or overseas lending quotas, designated partner banks are authorized to process the changes directly without pre-approval from SAFE. In terms of financing flexibility, multinational groups can raise foreign debt up to 3.5 times and extend offshore loans up to 0.6 times their accrued owner's equity in the pool. Companies are permitted to pool quotas across member entities and determine aggregation ratios autonomously. Corporate participants reported notable operational gains during the pilot. Beijing Horizon Information Technology, an autonomous driving technology firm that adopted the system in August 2023, consolidated foreign debt operations across domestic subsidiaries, compressing fund landing times from approximately 20 working days to one to two days.