SAFE’s New Rules simplify registration of foreign debt

On 28 April 2013, SAFE promulgated the Administrative Measures for the Registration of Foreign Debt and an appendix thereto, the Operational Guidelines for the Registration of Foreign Debt ("New Rules on Foreign Debt"). Under the New Rules on Foreign Debt, borrowers are administered as three different groups: government finance agencies, banks, and non-bank borrowers. The New Rules on Foreign Debt have abolished some of the foreign debt approval requirements, clarified previous uncertainties in the practice of foreign debt registration and administration, and consolidated previous regulations on foreign debt registration and administration. The New Rules on Foreign Debt will come into effect on 13 March 2013.