The monopoly of the
Bank of
China in selling foreign currencies to individuals going abroad
for private purposes was broken Thursday with the implementation of
new rules on such deals Thursday.
With the help of a foreign exchange purchase information management
system for individual buyers, developed by the State Administration
of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), residents all over the Chinese mainland
can buy foreign currencies in the Industrial and Commercial
Bank of China and the
China International Trust and Investment Industrial Bank,
besides the Bank of China.
The introduction of the new system is aimed to standardize and
improve the management of individuals' foreign exchange purchase
for private purpose, facilitate the deals, curb black market deals,
and create a good environment for fair competition among banks, a
SAFE official said.
The real time information system, which was put into trial
operation in Beijing on April 1 this year, links the SAFE with
banks, and can effectively repeated purchases by individuals.
(China
Daily August 3, 2002)