China further optimizes cash-pooling service for multinational companies

A pilot cash-pooling service integrating domestic and foreign currency management for multinational companies in China will be further optimized, the country's monetary authorities said Wednesday.

The move aims to enhance the facilitation of cross-border investment and financing for multinational companies, according to the People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

The move will focus on reducing corporate financing costs, enhancing cross-border payment and receipt facilitation, streamlining cross-border fund management, and further improving capital utilization efficiency for multinational companies.

The latest move will involve a total of 10 regions comprising Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Guangdong, Hainan, Shaanxi, Ningbo, Qingdao and Shenzhen designed to operate pilot projects of the cash-pooling service, according to the authorities.

The pilot cash-pooling service was first launched in Beijing and the southern economic powerhouse of Shenzhen in 2021. It was expanded to include Shanghai, Guangdong, Shaanxi and other regions in 2022.

Cash pooling refers to the consolidation of a company's various bank accounts into a single account or "pool," which is used to manage the company's overall cash position. This allows the company to more easily track and control its cash flow, as well as take advantage of any available interest income or cost savings.

Construction of the fifth phase of Guangzhou Port's Nansha Port area, one of the major national projects, commenced in Nansha District of Guangzhou, the capital of south China's Guangdong Province, on Friday.

The project is designed with an annual container throughput capacity of 6.7 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), according to the Guangzhou Port Group.

It has four deep-water berths, each capable of accommodating 200,000-ton container vessels, with a combined shoreline exceeding 3,800 meters.

Upon completion of the Phase V project, the total container throughput capacity of the Nansha Port area is expected to reach 35 million TEUs annually. This would place it among the world's leading single port complexes in terms of handling capacity, further solidifying Guangzhou's status as an international shipping hub.