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)
