China capital outflows hit record in August on yuan weakness

Beijing

MONEY is leaving China faster than ever, according to a Bloomberg gauge tracking capital flows. An estimated US$141.66 billion left China in August, exceeding the previous record of US$124.62 billion in July, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The gauge of so-called "hot money" is an estimate of the sum of foreign exchange purchases by banks and the change in foreign exchange deposits to measure flows into and out of the country. The monthly trade and direct investment balances are netted out for an estimate of portfolio flows. An exporter choosing to keep foreign earnings offshore would show as a capital outflow.