A Chinese city celebrated for its cut-throat entrepreneurs has launched a pilot project allowing individuals to invest directly overseas in a move that could signal greater opening of the country’s tightly controlled capital account.
The eastern city of Wenzhou will allow individual residents to spend up to $200m a year in offshore investments, according to an announcement on the city government’s website.
Chinese individuals are now only allowed to buy up to $50,000 worth of foreign exchange each year. But, under the pilot programme, Wenzhou residents will be able to apply for much larger amounts as long as their investments meet certain criteria.