China’s forex regulator says offshore remittance policy remains unchanged as it plays down kerfuffle over Mobius’ ‘can’t get money out’ claim

‘There is no change in the country’s policy on cross-border remittance of funds,’ the State Administration on Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a statement cited by CNBC

HSBC said it has not received any instructions from Chinese regulators to restrict outbound remittances, nor is it aware of any recent policy changes

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Mark Mobius, the former executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group, on September 5, 2017. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 3:16pm, 7 Mar 2023Updated: 3:27pm, 7 Mar 2023

China’s currency regulator said it would continue to guide and urge banks to improve their processes in handling cross-border financial services, as it refuted the claim by the emerging market investment guru Mark Mobius about a clampdown in the country’s remittances.

“There is no change in the country’s policy on cross-border remittance of funds”, the State Administration on Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a statement cited by CNBC, adding that it is “business as usual” in offshore fund transfers.

The statement by SAFE followed an interview last week on Fox Business, during which Mobius said he could not take his money out of HSBC in Shanghai.

“The government is restricting the flow of money out of the country,” Mobius said in the interview, adding that investors should be “very, very careful” when investing in China.

“I can’t get an explanation of why they’re doing this. They’re putting all kinds of barriers,” Mobius said. “They don’t say, ‘no, you can’t get your money out’. But they say, ‘give us all the records from 20 years of how you made this money’ … This is crazy.”

The remarks were unusual for Mobius, an astute picker of under-the-radar investment opportunities, whose bullish calls on China preceded other banks by decades and earned him the moniker as the “godfather of emerging markets”. Mobius, 86, stepped down as chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group in 2018 to establish Mobius Capital Partners.