World Trade
Organization RESTRICTED S/FIN/W/68
27 November 2008 (08-5819) Committee on Trade in Financial Services Original: English



Communication from THE UNITED STATES



Transitional Review Mechanism Pursuant to Paragraph 18 of
the Protocol of the Accession of the People's Republic of China ("China")



The following communication, dated 24 November 2008, from the delegation of the United States, is being circulated to the Members of the Committee on Trade in Financial Services.

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Questions from the United States to China concerning Financial Services


Insurance Services
The United States remains concerned that the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) in practice does not consistently meet its own regulatory deadlines for reviewing and approving internal branch applications that it receives from foreign companies, including for applications for consecutive (i.e., one at a time) branches. The United States is also co

World Trade
Organization RESTRICTED S/FIN/W/37
5 November 2004
(04-4703) Committee on Trade in Financial Services Original: English



Communication from canada

Transitional Review Mechanism in connection with Paragraph 18 of
the Protocol on the Accession of the People's Republic of China


The following communication, dated 4 November 2004, from the delegation of Canada is being circulated to the Members of the Committee on Trade in Financial Services.


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Canada recognizes the earnest efforts on the part of China to implement its WTO commitments for financial services. Related to liberalization commitments under the GATS, China’s operational requirements (including registered capital requirements) for banking have for the most part been made less onerous, and more in line with international best practices. As well, Canada is encouraged that the requirement that foreign banks must wait one year between receiving approval fo

World Trade
Organization RESTRICTED S/FIN/W/56
22 November 2006 (06-5606) Committee on Trade in Financial Services Original: English


Communication from CANADA

Transitional Review Mechanism Pursuant to Paragraph 18 of the Protocol of
Accession of the People's Republic of China ("China")


The following communication, dated 20 November 2006, from the delegation of Canada is being circulated to the Members of the Committee on Trade in Financial Services.
_______________

Canada welcomes China's continued progress in implementing its WTO commitments for financial services, and recognizes the value of the TRM process as a vehicle for exchanging information on financial sector policy and regulatory issues. In accordance with paragraph 18 of China's accession protocol, and in the interest of promoting a constructive dialogue, Canada requests that China provide responses and relevant information concerning the following questions and comments during the meeting

World Trade
Organization RESTRICTED S/FIN/W/56
22 November 2006 (06-5606) Committee on Trade in Financial Services Original: English


Communication from CANADA

Transitional Review Mechanism Pursuant to Paragraph 18 of the Protocol of
Accession of the People's Republic of China ("China")


The following communication, dated 20 November 2006, from the delegation of Canada is being circulated to the Members of the Committee on Trade in Financial Services.
_______________

Canada welcomes China's continued progress in implementing its WTO commitments for financial services, and recognizes the value of the TRM process as a vehicle for exchanging information on financial sector policy and regulatory issues. In accordance with paragraph 18 of China's accession protocol, and in the interest of promoting a constructive dialogue, Canada requests that China provide responses and relevant information concerning the following questions and comments during the meeting

World Trade
Organization RESTRICTED S/FIN/W/33
12 November 2003 (03-6066) Committee on Trade in Financial Services Original: English

Communication from canada

Transitional Review Mechanism in connection with Paragraph 18 of
the Protocol on the Accession of the People's Republic of China

The attached communication has been received from the delegation of Canada with the request that it be distributed to Members of the Committee on Trade in Financial Services.
Questions and Comments
Insurance
To ensure that insurance firms can form clear expectations regarding their rights and obligations when operating in China, Canada would like to encourage CIRC to communicate with insurance firms in writing as much as possible, especially regarding interpretation of relevant rules and regulations.
In addition, can China please confirm that prior approval by CIRC is required for each new life insurance product, and that the product must be re-approved for sale in each separate city that a foreign-invested life insurance firm operates in?
However, the 1999 notice also explicitly excludes foreign-invested insurance firms from this permission, and Canada’s understanding is that foreign-invested firms must at present obtain special written permission from the regulator before they can negotiate contractual deposits with local banks.
Canada’s concern relates to capital adequacy ratios for individual branches and Article 38 of the “Detailed Implementing Rules for the Administrative Regulations on Foreign-Invested Financial Institutions” [promulgated by the PBOC], which requires that for a given branch to be eligible to receive initial approval to provide local currency services or to receive approval to increase the scope of such services, this branch must have been in operation for more than three years and have been profitable for the two consecutive years prior to application.
In Canada’s submission for the TRM process in 2002 (S/FIN/W/20), Canada noted that Article 30 of the "Administrative Regulations on Foreign-Invested Financial Institutions" requires that the value of a foreign bank's foreign currency deposits received within China shall not exceed 70% of the value of its foreign currency assets within China.
c)], this cap could put foreign banks at an extreme disadvantage – especially those who are not planning to establish large RMB deposit bases – because it will artificially limit the amount of lending they can do.
These processes can be very costly and time consuming for firms and may contradict the spirit of Paragraph 308 of the Working Party Report, namely that "China's licensing procedures and conditions would not act as trade barriers to market access and would not be more trade restrictive than necessary.
While regulatory transparency has improved markedly since China’s accession to the WTO and Chinese regulatory authorities have demonstrated a genuine interest in receiving input from financial institutions and other WTO Member governments, Canada would like to note that the periods provided for public comment on the July 31, 2003 draft “Implementing Rules for the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Administration of ForeignFunded Insurance Companies”, and the August 18, 2003 draft “Administrative Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Insurance Companies” [issued by the CIRC] were very short by international standards and did not afford enough time for a considered response, especially given the need to allow time for translation of relevant documents.