Issued by:    The People's Bank of China, Shanghai Head Office
Issue No.:    Yinzongbufa [2025] No. 96
Issue Date:    November 3, 2025
Effective Date:     December 5, 2025
Links:    https://jrj.sh.gov.cn/YWTBZCCX166/20251203/f0afca359214463fa40282b831813187.html

The Measures for the upgraded Free Trade Accounts (referred to as “FT Account”) are similar to the rules for multi-functional Free Trade Accounts (referred to as “EF Account”) previously launched in Hengqin and Hainan, aiming to facilitate efficient financing between high-quality enterprises and overseas funds. Cross-border fund transfers at the first tier (excluding securities investments) can be executed directly upon instruction, while transfers at the second tier are managed through quotas and a negative list system. The main points are as follows:

1. The upgraded FT Accounts have a high entry threshold. Pilot enterprises are limited to qualified, high-quality enterprises registered in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, with priority given to those in the Lingang New Area. In addition to meeting conventional requirements, such as being established for over one year and having no major cross-border business violations in the past three years, pilot enterprises must also reach a certain scale: the audited owner's equity of the previous year should be no less than RMB 200 million, operating revenue no less than RMB 1 billion, and the total amount of domestic and foreign currency international settlements (converted to RMB) no less than RMB 100 million.

2. Enterprises that have opened an upgraded FT Account are not permitted to open or retain any original FT Accounts (except for the master account used for participating in cross-border fund pools). During the initial pilot phase, each enterprise may only open one upgraded FT Account.

3. Significant deregulation of "Cross-first-tier" fund transfers:

1) For fund transfers between a pilot enterprise's upgraded FT Account and overseas accounts, offshore accounts, domestic accounts of overseas institutions, other upgraded FT Accounts, EF Accounts, or FT Accounts opened by non-residents (i.e., cross-first-tier transfers), the handling bank may process them directly upon receiving the pilot enterprise's payment or receipt instructions.

2) Pilot enterprises conducting capital account business (excluding securities investment) are not subject to quota or approval restrictions for foreign loan or outbound lending, nor are they required to open special accounts, undergo prior registration or filing procedures with the foreign exchange authorities.

3) For transactions involving overseas direct investment (ODI), pilot enterprises must still complete the approval or filing procedures for ODI projects with the competent Commission of Commerce (COC) and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The handling bank shall conduct regular mid- and post-event spot checks.

4. "Cross-second-tier" fund transfers managed via quotas and a negative list:

1) Foreign currency transfers between an upgraded FT Account and a non-FT Account under the same name (cross-second-tier) are not permitted. RMB transfers are subject to macro-prudential quota management, with the quota tentatively set at 100% of the enterprise's audited owner's equity from the previous year. 

2) The use of funds transferred from an upgraded FT Account into a domestic non- FT Account under the same name is managed according to the negative list for capital account transactions. 

5. Handling banks will conduct continuous monitoring and management of pilot enterprises. If a pilot enterprise is found to no longer meet the required conditions, its upgraded FT Account will be closed, and the remaining balance in the account may be transferred in a lump sum to a non-FT Account under the same name.

6. Foreign currency transfers are permitted between overseas institutions' FT Accounts (FTN Accounts) and domestic institutions' non-FT Accounts, breaking through the previous restriction in the FT account system where FTN Accounts could only transfer RMB across the second tier.