China Expands Cross-Border Multi-Currency Fund Pooling Nationwide for Mid-Sized Multinationals

China's central bank and foreign exchange regulator announced that cross-border multi-currency centralised fund operations for multinational corporations will be rolled out nationwide starting September 14, 2026. The policy lowers entry thresholds compared to previous integrated cash pool schemes, offering smaller and mid-sized multinationals streamlined registration, flexible cross-border lending and borrowing quotas, and unified accounts for domestic and foreign currencies. Enterprises registered in China's pilot free trade zones will see eligibility thresholds halved, further facilitating two-way cross-border financial management.

By extending centralised fund pooling beyond large conglomerates to small and mid-sized multinationals, Chinese authorities are reducing corporate treasury frictions, cutting settlement timelines, and lowering currency conversion costs for both domestic firms expanding abroad and foreign companies operating in China.

The People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange announced on August 14 that cross-border centralised multi-currency fund operations for multinational corporations will be expanded nationwide, taking effect on September 14, 2026. The regulatory notice formalises the countrywide deployment of a programme initially piloted in Beijing and Guangdong, including Shenzhen, in 2023. According to official data, the pilot had covered more than 260 multinational groups and over 5,500 domestic and overseas member entities by the end of June 2026. While the integrated cash pool mechanism expanded nationwide in December 2025 primarily catered to large conglomerates with high qualification thresholds, this centralised fund operation policy focuses on standard and small-to-medium-sized multinationals. Under the rules, enterprises only need to satisfy either foreign exchange or renminbi cash pool criteria. For multinational parent entities registered in China's Pilot Free Trade Zones, the qualification entry barrier is reduced by half. The reform provides greater operational flexibility in group-level treasury management. Multinationals are permitted to centralise the foreign debt and overseas lending quotas of member entities, borrowing external debt up to 3.5 times and extending overseas loans up to 0.6 times their pool-accrued equity. Corporations can independently determine pooling ratios and operate domestic and foreign currency funds through a single account, with regulatory policy explicitly encouraging the priority use of renminbi. To streamline compliance, SAFE branches will provide a single-window registration process, and partner commercial banks are authorized to directly handle routine member company adjustments that do not alter total quota limits. Official case studies cited by state media highlight significant cost reductions; logistics provider SF Group reported saving 1.66 million yuan in financial costs and shortening settlement cycles by a month under the pilot framework, while tech enterprise Beijing Horizon Robotics reduced foreign debt processing timeframes from 20 business days to one to two days. Authorities emphasised that the nationwide implementation will pair enhanced facilitation with robust mid- and post-transaction supervision to manage potential cross-border capital flow risks.