中国限制刷卡购买境外保险产品

China’s bank card monopoly said it will clamp down on the use of its credit and debit cards to purchase certain insurance products overseas following a jump in capital outflows from China in the second half of the year.

中国的银行卡垄断机构表示，其将限制使用信用卡和借记卡购买某些海外保险产品的做法。进入下半年以来中国的资本外流大增。

China UnionPay, the country’s sole clearing house for bank card transactions, said on Saturday that it had observed a significant increase in overseas insurance transactions by cards issued from mainland China, and that it would bar the purchase of investment-linked products in Hong Kong on a trial basis.

上周六，中国唯一提供银行卡交易清算服务的中国银联(China UnionPay)表示，其观察到中国内地发行的银行卡发生的海外保险交易大幅增加，将试行禁止以银联卡购买香港的投资相连保险产品。

Insurers in China have experienced a windfall in premium growth based on demand from mainland Chinese customers.

得益于中国内地客户的需求，在中国经营的保险公司近期实现意外的保费增长。

New business growth in Hong Kong at some of the world’s largest insurance companies such as AIA and Prudential soared in the first half of the year as Chinese customers crossed the border.

今年上半年，随着中国客户跨过边境，友邦保险(AIA)和保诚集团(Prudential)等全球一些大型保险公司在香港的新业务大幅增长。

Following a lull in early 2016, capital outflow from China has accelerated in recent months.

在2016年初出现短暂停歇之后，近几个月中国的资本外流再度加速。

China’s foreign exchange reserves fell $39bn in the third quarter, up from a $7.4bn drop in the second quarter.

今年第三季度，中国外汇储备下降390亿美元，高于第二季度74亿美元的下降。

The renminbi closed at its weakest level versus the dollar in more than six years on Friday at Rmb6.78 per greenback.

上周五，人民币兑美元汇率创下六年多以来最低水平，收于1美元兑6.78元人民币。

Royal Bank of Scotland warned recently that while repayment of foreign currency debt was mainly responsible for the first wave of capital outflow that began last year, investors have now switched to foreign direct investment and other more lightly regulated channels to transfer money out of China.

苏格兰皇家银行(RBS)最近警告说，尽管偿还外币债务是开始于去年的第一波资本外流的主要原因，但如今投资者们已转向直接对外投资以及其他监管较宽松的渠道，以便把资金转移到境外。

While capital outflows through insurance products have been estimated to account for less than a percentage point of total capital outflows, the steady stream of retail cash into offshore financial products has drawn the attention of China’s foreign exchange regulator.

虽然据估计，购买保险产品造成的资本流出在资本流出总量中还不到一个百分点，但散户现金源源流入境外金融产品的现象已引起了中国外汇管理机构的注意。

On Friday, before the release of the UnionPay statement, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said it had instructed banks to strengthen checks on foreign-exchange transactions to ensure that they are linked to real economic activity.

上周五，在中国银联声明发布之前，国家外汇管理局(Safe)表示，它已指示各银行加强对外汇交易的检查，确保交易与实际经济活动挂钩。