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Can We Get a Loan Abroad?

Business Beijing, in cooperation with the Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission, is beginning this Q&A column to serve foreign investors.

If you have any questions about investing in Beijing please write us via e-mail at: invest@btmbeijing.com or fax at +86 10 6715 2381, we will find someone authoritative to provide you with the best and latest information available. Please remember: only e-mails and faxes are acceptable.

Q: Ours is a foreign-funded company based in Beijing. For business development purposes, we need to get a loan from abroad. Can we apply for an overseas loan; if so, what rules we should we follow?

A: According to the Provisional Measures for Foreign Debts Administration jointly promulgated by the former State Development and Planning Commission of the People’s Republic of China (now the National Development and Reform Commission), the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (effective March 1, 2003), the sum of accumulated medium- and long-term debt (more than one year) borrowed by foreign-funded enterprises and the balance of short-term debts (less than one year) shall not exceed the surplus between the total investment in projects approved by the verifying departments and the registered capital. Within the surplus, foreign-funded enterprises can assume debt on their own; exceeding the surplus, the project investment should be checked and ratified by the verifying departments again.

Q: Ours is an automobile manufacturing company based in the United States, and we are planning to establish a branch company in Beijing. Is there any special industrial policy requirement concerning complete vehicle manufacture and assembly?

A: According to the Article 48 of the Automobile Industry Development Policy released by the National Development and Reform Commission (Decree No. 8 of the former State Development and Reform Commission), Chinese partners in Sino-foreign joint venture production enterprises of complete vehicles, special-purpose vehicles, farm transport vehicles and motorcycles should control a share of not less than 50 percent. The legal person of the Chinese party must have the comparative controlling share and more than the total of the foreign counterparts when a listed company with limited liabilities of complete vehicles, special-purpose vehicles, farm transport vehicles and motorcycles sells corporate shares to the public. A foreign company can launch joint ventures not exceeding two (including two), which produce the same types of complete vehicles (passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles and motorcycles). Foreign automobile manufacturers will be allowed to have more than two joint ventures in China if they join forces with their existing joint venture's Chinese partners to merge with other companies in China. If a foreign enterprise with legal person qualification controls a majority stake in another enterprise, they will be treated as one company in China.

Q: Ours is a research institution of the University of Stuttgart in Germany. We want to establish a fine chemical research and development centre at Shangdi in Haidian District. We need to rent an office building and library: so what procedures should we follow to complete our project proposal?

A: A project application report should be compiled before applying for the verification of the development and reform department. If the imported equipment exceeds US$1 million, the report should be compiled by a qualified institution or organization.

1.    Apply to an environmental protection department to get a report on the environmental impact assessment report.

2.    Apply to the development and reform department to get project approval.

3.    Apply to the commercial department to process the contract (joint-venture and cooperation), to get an article examination and to process the certificates for foreign-funded enterprises.

4.    Apply to the business and commercial department to register and get a business license.

5.    Apply to the foreign exchange administrative department to open a foreign exchange account.

Q: Ours is a foreign-funded enterprise. Because of changes in our market and company scale, we have to adjust our purchasing on the domestic equipment dimensions and types that were already approved. Should we apply for approval again?

A: A project which has gotten its confirmation document has to change some major procedures, such as the project unit, total amount of investment, purchasing amount for domestic equipment, performance period and domestic equipment list. The former examination department will verify the project and issue a project confirmation document or equipment-list-changing certificate.

“投资问答”栏目是本刊与北京市发展和改革委员会合作开辟，旨在为来京投资的外籍人士解答相关的疑问，通过权威部门解答为他们提供准确及时的政策服务。

如果您在北京投资过程中遇到问题，可以通过电子邮件和传真与本刊编辑部联系。

邮箱：invest@btmbeijing.com

传真：+86 10 6715 2381

1、我们是在北京注册的一家外商投资企业，由于业务发展需要，公司需要向境外借入一笔贷款。请问是否可以申请贷款？具体遵照哪些规定？

答：按照原国家发展计划委员会、财政部、国家外汇管理局2003年联合发布的《外债管理暂行办法》（2003年3月1日起施行），外商投资企业举借的中长期外债（一年以上）累计发生额和短期外债（一年以下）余额之和应当控制在审批部门批准的项目总投资和注册资本之间的差额以内（即通常所说的“投注差”）。在差额范围内，外商投资企业可自行举借外债。超出差额的，须经原审批部门重新核定项目总投资。

2、我们是一家美国汽车制造公司，想在北京设立一家分公司，制造、组装整车，请问从产业政策上有特殊要求吗？

答：按照国家发展和改革委员会《汽车产业政策》（国家发展改革委8号令）第四十八条规定：汽车整车、专用汽车、农用运输车和摩托车中外合资生产企业的中方股份比例不得低于50%。股票上市的汽车整车、专用汽车、农用运输车和摩托车股份公司对外出售法人股份时，中方法人之一必须相对控股且大于外资法人股之和。同一家外商可在国内建立两家（含两家）以下生产同类（乘用车类、商用车类、摩托车类）整车产品的合资企业，如与中方合资伙伴联合兼并国内其它汽车生产企业可不受两家的限制。境外具有法人资格的企业相对控股另一家企业，则视为同一家外商。

3、我们是德国斯图加特大学的一所研究机构，想在北京市海淀区上地成立一家精细化工研发中心，拟租赁建设好的办公楼和实验室，立项都需要办理那些手续？

答：在到北京市发展和改革委员会部门核准之前，先编制项目申请报告（如进口设备超过100万美元，需要有资质的单位编写）：

A.    环保部门办理环境影响评价报告;

B.    到发展改革部门进行项目核准；

C.    到商务部门办理合同（合资、合作）、章程审批，办理外商投资企业批准证书；

D.    到工商部门办理工商登记，领取营业执照；

E.     到外汇管理部门开设外汇账户。

4、问：我们是一家外资企业，由于市场和企业规模发生变化，原核准的采购国产设备规格和类型需要重新进行调整，请问需要再次报批吗？

答：已经出具项目确认书的项目，在执行中确需变更项目单位、投资总额、采购国产设备额、执行年限和采购国产设备清单等主要事项的，由原出具部门审核同意后出具项目确认书和（或）设备清单变更证明。