HSBC China says it’s unaware of remittance curbs after Mobius’ claims

HSBC’s China unit said on Tuesday (Mar 7) it has not been told by regulators to restrict outbound remittances and was unaware of recent capital outflow curbs, after billionaire Mark Mobius, its client, said he could not take money out of the country.

China’s foreign exchange regulator also said on Monday there is no change in policy on cross-border remittance of funds and that it would continue to promote opening-up to the world.

“We did not receive any requirements from the Chinese regulators to restrict outbound remittances, nor are we aware of any policy changes recently by the Chinese authorities with regards to cross-border capital outflows,” an HSBC China spokesperson said via email.

HSBC China made the statement in response to Reuters’ questions regarding Mark Mobius’ claims that he could not remit his money out of China from his account with HSBC in Shanghai due to China’s capital controls.

Mobius, founder of Mobius Capital Partners, told FOX Business last week that he faced all kinds of barriers in the process, including requirements to show records from 20 years of how he made the money.

HSBC China declined to comment on individual client circumstances but said: “As common practices in many countries commercial banks conduct businesses under operational procedures and control requirements for processing transactions appropriately.”

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The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (Safe) said in a statement to Reuters late on Monday that individual remittance of funds needs to go through a bank’s basic process and is subject to internal control requirements.

The Chinese forex regulator added it will urge commercial banks to optimise cross-border financial services and improve quality of service. REUTERS