Zhongxin Finance, May 27th. On the 27th, the People's Bank of China, the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange issued Joint Announcement [2022] No. 4 (on matters related to further facilitating foreign institutional investors to invest in China's bond market) (hereinafter referred to as the "Announcement") , to coordinate and simultaneously promote the opening of the inter-bank and exchange bond markets to the outside world.

　　The first is to adhere to the legal entity as the market subject and supervision object, clarify the rights and responsibilities of all parties, and support overseas institutional investors to invest in the exchange bond market directly or through interconnection and to choose trading venues independently.

　　Second, based on years of good practices in my country's commercial bank counters, cross-market transfer custody, and "Bond Connect" business, adhere to penetrating data and information collection, and explore the establishment and improvement of inclusive institutional arrangements compatible with multi-level custody.

Foreign institutional investors investing in the inter-bank bond market can independently choose a bond registration and settlement institution or a domestic custodian bank to provide bond custody services according to their actual needs.

　　According to the announcement, the scope of foreign institutional investors allowed to enter the market has not changed, the procedures have been further simplified, and the scope of investment can be extended to the exchange bond market.

　　In terms of the scope of investors, it includes compliance with the "Notice on Issues Concerning the Pilot Program of Overseas RMB Clearing Banks and Other Three Types of Institutions to Use RMB to Invest in the Interbank Bond Market" (Yin Fa [2010] No. 217), "Regarding Overseas Central Banks, International Financial Organizations, Sovereign Wealth Circular on Matters Concerning the Fund's Use of RMB to Invest in the Interbank Market (Yin Fa [2015] No. 220), the People's Bank of China Announcement [2016] No. 3 and the Interim Measures for the Administration of Interconnection and Cooperation in the Bond Markets of the Mainland and Hong Kong (Order of the People's Bank of China) [2017] No. 1) and other current requirements for foreign institutional investors.

　　In terms of market entry procedures, foreign institutional investors enter the market as legal persons.

For the newly added products of the institutions to be filed and the institutions that have already filed, there is no need to record each product one by one.

For the products that have been filed, the existing bond account can be retained in the inter-bank bond market, or it can be merged into the legal person level, and the relevant financial infrastructure should provide non-transaction transfer services.

　　Foreign institutional investors entering the market can directly invest in the exchange bond market after applying for the opening of a securities account with relevant filing certificates and other materials. Invest in the exchange bond market in an interoperable way.

Both methods do not require separate filing or approval procedures.

The Exchange will work with China Securities Depository and Clearing Co., Ltd. to formulate specific business rules as soon as possible to clarify matters such as account opening, trading, registration, and settlement of foreign institutional investors who have entered the inter-bank bond market.

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