中國限制刷卡購買境外保險產品
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.
中國的銀行卡壟斷機構表示，其將限制使用信用卡和借記卡購買某些海外保險產品的做法。進入下半年以來中國的資本外流大增。
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.
上週六，中國唯一提供銀行卡交易清算服務的中國銀聯(China UnionPay)表示，其觀察到中國內地發行的銀行卡發生的海外保險交易大幅增加，將試行禁止以銀聯卡購買香港的投資相連保險產品。
Insurers in China have experienced a windfall in premium growth based on demand from mainland Chinese customers.
得益於中國內地客戶的需求，在中國經營的保險公司近期實現意外的保費增長。
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，隨着中國客戶跨過邊境，友邦保險(AIA)和保誠集團(Prudential)等全球一些大型保險公司在香港的新業務大幅增長。
Following a lull in early 2016, capital outflow from China has accelerated in recent months.
在2016年初出現短暫停歇之後，近幾個月中國的資本外流再度加速。
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，中國外匯儲備下降390億美元，高於第二季度74億美元的下降。
The renminbi closed at its weakest level versus the dollar in more than six years on Friday at Rmb6.78 per greenback.
上週五，人民幣兌美元匯率創下六年多以來最低水平，收於1美元兌6.78元人民幣。
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.
蘇格蘭皇家銀行(RBS)最近警告說，儘管償還外幣債務是開始於去年的第一波資本外流的主要原因，但如今投資者們已轉向直接對外投資以及其他監管較寬鬆的渠道，以便把資金轉移到境外。
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.
雖然據估計，購買保險產品造成的資本流出在資本流出總量中還不到一個百分點，但散戶現金源源流入境外金融產品的現象已引起了中國外匯管理機構的注意。
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.
上週五，在中國銀聯聲明發布之前，國家外匯管理局(Safe)表示，它已指示各銀行加強對外匯交易的檢查，確保交易與實際經濟活動掛鉤。
