V. The State Council Has Issued Amended Regulations on the Administration of Foreign-Funded Insurance Companies.
On June 8, 2013, the State Council issued amended Regulations on the Administration of Foreign-Funded Insurance Companies (Order No. 336), which will take effect on August 1, 2013. The amendments are comprised of two paragraphs. The first paragraph of Article 7 has been revised to “the minimum amount of registered capital of a joint venture and wholly foreign invested insurance company is RMB twenty million or convertible currency in equivalent.” The second paragraph of Article 7 has been revised to read, “a foreign-funded insurance company shall allot no less than RMB twenty million of working capital to its branch.” The regulation of “contribution of a foreign-funded insurance company shall be convertible currency” is deleted.
(From Xinhua Net)
VI. The Signing of the Cross-Straits Agreement on Service Trade in Shanghai.
On June 21, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and the Straits Exchange Foundation signed a Cross-Straits Agreement on Service Trade (hereinafter referred to as “the Agreement”) in Shanghai. This Agreement is one of the agreements signed after the execution of the ECFA. This Agreement consists of four chapters including twenty-four articles and two attachments. According to this Agreement, in banking and insurance areas, Taiwan-based banks will be allowed to set up branch banks in Fujian Province in Mainland China, and otherwise Taiwan-based banks will be permitted to set up village banks in the mainland by way of promoting and positively supporting qualified Taiwan-based insurance operators to operate in the insurance business, specifically compulsory insurance programs for motor vehicle traffic accidents. According to the attachment concerning promises on opening non-financial service departments in Mainland China, thirty-four services and trades are now officially opened to Taiwan’s involvement and participation at this time. According to the attachment concerning promises on opening non-financial service departments in Taiwan, fifty-six services and trades are now opened.
(From the Ministry of Commerce website)
VII. The Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate Has Jointly Issued the Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Criminal Cases of Environment Pollution.
On June 8, 2013, the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate jointly issued the Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’ Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Environment Pollution, which will take effect on June 19, 2013. The Interpretation consists of twelve articles, primarily providing circumstances where “serious environment pollution” can be found by the courts, and defines the concept of “losses of public and private properties, toxic substances,” and others. Additionally, the Interpretation specifies relevant issues related to the application of expert evidence in criminal cases of environmental pollution.
(From the Supreme People’s Court website)
VIII. The Shanghai Municipal Administration of Industry and Commerce Has Promulgated Eight Measures on Supporting a Transformation of Innovation-Driven Development in Huangpu District.
Recently, the Huangpu Branch of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Industry and Commerce promulgated eight policies on supporting the transformation of Huangpu District into an innovation-driven area. According to the policies, the term “外滩WAITAN” will be permitted for use as a company name concerning major projects to be undertaking in furthering this goal; in addition, limits on financial services for outsourcing business opportunities will be loosened; furthermore, support on the economic development of business headquarters and limits on company names and business scopes of various corporate headquarters will also be loosened in kind; finally, the policies encourage enlarging the scope of “centralized registration” and other bureaucratic measures.
(From the Shanghai Municipal Government’s website)
Quoted from June, 2013 DeBund Newsletter
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