1月份中企海外房地产投资同比大降84%

Foreign property investment by Chinese companies plunged by 84 per cent last month, as Beijing’s capital controls choked off the flow of foreign acquisitions.

随着北京方面采取的资本管制对海外收购交易起到抑制作用，1月份中国企业对海外房地产业的投资额比上年同期下降了84%。

In a bid to curb capital outflows and ease downward pressure on the renminbi, Chinese regulators have imposed a series of new restrictions on outbound dealmaking in recent months. The new curbs came after outbound investment in non-financial assets surged by 44 per cent in 2016 to a record $170bn.

近几个月，为了遏制资本外流、缓解人民币贬值压力，中国监管机构针对海外并购出台了一系列新限制措施。2016年，中国企业对外非金融类直接投资额激增44%，达到创纪录的1700亿美元。

The curbs are having an effect. Overall non-financial outbound investment fell 36 per cent in January from a year earlier to Rmb53bn ($7.8bn), the commerce ministry said on Thursday, following a 39 per cent drop in December.

限制措施开始见到成效。中国商务部周四表示，1月份中国企业对外非金融类直接投资金额同比下降了36%，至530亿元人民币（合78亿美元）。去年12月的同比降幅为39%。

The commerce ministry data showing plummeting real estate investment follows an overall 53 per cent rise last year to a record $33bn, according to separate data from JLL, a global realtor.

此前，跨国房地产经纪机构仲量联行(JLL)的数据显示，2016年全年，中国对外房地产投资额增长了53%，达到创纪录的330亿美元。

Four government agencies including the commerce ministry and the central bank said in December they would apply tighter scrutiny to "irrational" outbound deals including real estate, hotels, movie theatres, entertainment assets and sports clubs.

去年12月，包括中国商务部、中国央行在内的四个政府部门表示，将收紧对房地产、酒店、影城、娱乐业、体育俱乐部等领域的“非理性”对外投资项目的审查。

The latest commerce ministry figures do not include real estate purchases by individuals, many of whom exploit loopholes in China's capital control regime to obtain foreign currency. But the foreign exchange regulator has recently moved to close such loopholes, notably by tightening control of forex purchases by individuals, who are allowed to exchange $50,000 worth of renminbi for foreign currency each year.

中国商务部的最新数据不包含个人购买的房地产。有不少个人利用中国资本管制体系的漏洞来获取外汇。但外汇监管机构最近采取措施堵住了此类漏洞，尤其是收紧了对个人购汇的管控——按现行规定，中国公民每年可用人民币购买等值5万美元外汇。

While the currency exchange limit has not changed, individuals are now required to disclose specific details on how they will use the funds. Funds can only be used towards current account spending such as tourism and shopping, overseas study, foreign medical care and consulting services. Real estate and other investment spending are explicitly forbidden.

尽管购汇限制并未调整，但监管部门现在要求个人详细披露到底要用购得的外汇去做什么。购得的外汇只能用于旅游和购物、留学、境外求医以及咨询服务等经常项目支出。房地产和其他投资性支出属明确禁止之列。

The disclosure form also warns forex buyers that they are not allowed to exploit others’ exchange quotas. Previously, aggregating quotas from multiple individuals was a common technique that grey-market money changers used to obtain large sums of foreign exchange.

披露表格还警告购汇者不得使用其他人的购汇额度。以前，灰色市场的货币兑换者经常把多个个人的购汇额度汇集起来，靠这种手段来获取大量外汇。