China’s Foreign M&A Rules Revision and the Nationwide Rollout of MNC Cross-border Cash Pooling (2026)
- The Action Plan for Stabilising and Optimizing Foreign Investment (Shangzi Fa [2026] No. 97) commits China to expediting the revision and promulgation of the rules on foreign investors’ M&A of domestic enterprises and to optimising the M&A administration process and the consideration-payment requirements — but no revised text has been published, so the rules in force today remain the operative baseline.
《利用外资固稳促优行动方案》（商资发〔2026〕97 号）明确要加快修订出台关于外国投资者并购境内企业的规定，并优化并购管理流程和对价支付要求——但修订稿尚未发布，故现行有效规定仍是操作基准。
- The same Action Plan allows qualified foreign equity investment institutions to participate, as strategic investors, in securities issuance by listed companies in unrelated industries.
同一行动方案还允许符合条件的外资股权投资机构以战略投资者身份参与非相关行业上市公司证券发行。
- The PBOC and SAFE notice on multinational companies’ cross-border RMB and foreign-currency cash-pooling business, issued 14 August 2026 and effective 14 September 2026, further lowers the pool threshold, supports small and medium-sized multinationals more broadly, applies an even lower pool-establishment threshold where the lead enterprise is registered in a pilot free-trade zone, and simplifies filing and registration.
中国人民银行、国家外汇管理局关于跨国公司本外币跨境资金集中运营业务的通知于 2026 年 8 月 14 日发布、2026 年 9 月 14 日起施行，进一步降低资金池门槛、更大范围支持中小规模跨国公司，主办企业注册在自由贸易试验区内的可适用更低建池门槛，并简化备案登记流程。
- Under the notice, groups may centralise members’ foreign-debt and outbound-lending quotas, decide their own fund-collection ratio, and use a single account to manage both RMB and foreign-currency funds; the notice repeals the SAFE rules on cross-border centralised fund operations (Hui Fa [2019] No. 7).
该通知下，集团可集中成员企业外债和境外放款额度、自主决定资金归集比例，并使用同一账户管理本外币资金；通知同时废止《国家外汇管理局关于印发〈跨国公司跨境资金集中运营管理规定〉的通知》（汇发〔2019〕7 号）。
- Two cash-pooling regimes coexist — the integrated RMB and foreign-currency pool rolled out nationwide in December 2025 and the cross-border cash-pooling business covered by the 2026 notice — and they are layered and tiered rather than interchangeable.
两套资金池制度并存——2025 年 12 月全国推广的本外币一体化资金池，与 2026 年通知所覆盖的本外币跨境资金集中运营业务——二者分层分类、高低搭配，不可相互替代。
- Early implementation is visible: Shanghai’s first eight multinationals completed filing with 55 domestic and 10 overseas member enterprises, centralised foreign-debt quotas above RMB 50 billion and outbound-lending quotas above RMB 8 billion; Tianjin, Zhejiang, Fujian and Chongqing have also reported first deals.
落地进展可见：上海首批 8 家跨国公司完成备案，涉及 55 家境内成员企业、10 家境外成员企业，归集外债额度超 500 亿元人民币、境外放款额度超 80 亿元人民币；天津、浙江、福建、重庆亦报告首批业务落地。
China’s Foreign M&A Rules Revision and the Nationwide Rollout of MNC Cross-border Cash Pooling (2026) | 中国外资并购规定修订与跨国公司本外币跨境资金集中运营全国推广
Overview
Two policy tracks moved in parallel in 2026 for foreign investors in China. On the investment side, the Action Plan for Stabilising and Optimizing Foreign Investment (Shangzi Fa [2026] No. 97), issued by MOFCOM, the NDRC and the Ministry of Finance and endorsed by the State Council, commits China to expedite the revision and promulgation of the rules on foreign investors’ M&A of domestic enterprises, optimise the M&A administration process and the consideration-payment requirements, and strengthen inter-departmental regulatory coordination; it also allows qualified foreign equity investment institutions to participate, as strategic investors, in securities issuance by listed companies in unrelated industries. On the treasury side, the People’s Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange issued a notice on multinational companies’ cross-border RMB and foreign-currency cash-pooling business on 14 August 2026, effective 14 September 2026. This article explains both instruments, how the two cash-pooling regimes fit together, where the first deals landed, and the practical path for foreign firms.
The Action Plan: what it commits to
Drafted on 16 June 2026 by MOFCOM, the NDRC and the Ministry of Finance and issued with the State Council’s approval, the Action Plan states in Part Two, item (4), headed “Improving the foreign M&A administration system”, that China will expedite the revision and promulgation of the rules on foreign investors’ M&A of domestic enterprises, optimise the M&A administration process and the consideration-payment requirements, and strengthen inter-departmental regulatory coordination. It also allows qualified foreign equity investment institutions to participate, as strategic investors, in securities issuance by listed companies in unrelated industries.
One point of discipline matters. The Action Plan is a policy commitment: it directs that the revision be accelerated and published, but it does not itself publish a revised text, and no revised rules have been made public as of this writing. Investors should treat the rules in force today as the operative baseline while noting the direction of travel on process and consideration payment. The strategic-investor commitment opens a specific channel whose practical scope will depend on the implementing rules of the securities and foreign-investment authorities.
The August 2026 cash-pooling notice
The notice of the People’s Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on matters concerning multinational companies’ cross-border RMB and foreign-currency cash-pooling business was issued on 14 August 2026 and took effect on 14 September 2026. On access, it further lowers the threshold for cash-pooling business, supporting small and medium-sized multinationals to establish pools across a wider range; where the lead enterprise is registered inside a pilot free-trade zone, an even lower pool-establishment threshold applies. On facilitation, it eases the cross-border collection and allocation of RMB and foreign-currency funds, centralises member enterprises’ foreign-debt and outbound-lending quotas, allows multinationals to decide their own fund-collection ratio, and permits the use of a single account to manage both RMB and foreign-currency funds. On procedure, it simplifies filing and registration: business filing and registration are handled externally by the SAFE branch where the lead enterprise is located, and some change registrations may be handled directly at the partner bank. The notice also repeals the SAFE notice on the administration of multinational companies’ cross-border centralised fund operations (Hui Fa [2019] No. 7).
The design lowers both the fixed cost of setting up a pool and the ongoing administrative cost of running one: lower thresholds widen the eligible population, a single account and self-determined collection ratios give treasury teams flexibility, centralised foreign-debt and outbound-lending quotas let a group deploy its balance sheet as a whole, and bank-handled change registrations shorten the loop from decision to implementation.
Two regimes coexist: layered and tiered, not interchangeable
A frequent misreading is to treat the 2026 notice as a replacement for the integrated RMB and foreign-currency cash pool that was rolled out nationwide in December 2025. The two are separate regimes that coexist; they are layered and tiered — higher and lower versions serving different populations and different needs — and should not be conflated. The distinction determines which instrument a group targets: the integrated pool is the more comprehensive regime, while the business covered by the 2026 notice is the more accessible, threshold-oriented one. A group should not assume that qualifying for one means qualifying for the other, or that a filing completed under one is valid under the other.
Where the first deals landed
Official disclosures show rapid take-up after 14 September 2026. The Shanghai branch of SAFE reported that the first eight multinationals in Shanghai completed filing, involving 55 domestic and 10 overseas member enterprises, with centralised foreign-debt quotas exceeding RMB 50 billion and outbound-lending quotas exceeding RMB 8 billion. In Tianjin, two multinational groups completed filing, with a combined upper limit on centralisable funds of nearly RMB 100 billion. Zhejiang’s Wankai New Materials landed the first deal on 14 September and processed its first current-account centralised receipt of foreign exchange the same day. Fujian’s Hengshen Group completed filing, and Chongqing landed its first batch of business. For a foreign group, these cases signal that the filing channel is live and that early movers have tended to be groups with substantial cross-border current-account and financing flows.
Practical path for foreign firms
The M&A path
Design the transaction structure against the rules in force today, and separately track the Action Plan’s commitment on process and consideration payment. Because the revision has not been published, do not assume any particular new payment or process rule; build the deal so that it can accommodate a change in the process, and factor inter-departmental coordination into approval sequencing. For listed-company transactions, assess whether a qualified foreign equity investment institution can participate as a strategic investor in an issuance by a company in an unrelated industry, and confirm the implementing requirements with the securities and foreign-investment authorities.
The capital path
Four questions frame the choice. Size: is the group a large multinational or a small and medium-sized one? The 2026 notice widens support for the latter. Location: is the lead enterprise registered inside a pilot free-trade zone? If so, a lower pool-establishment threshold may apply. Regime: does the group want the more comprehensive integrated pool, or the cross-border RMB and foreign-currency cash-pooling business? The two are separate and should be assessed on their own terms. Channel: file and register through the SAFE branch where the lead enterprise is located, and check which change registrations can be handled directly at the partner bank.
Sources
- 湖南省人民政府门户网站《利用外资固稳促优行动方案》官方中英对照全文（商资发〔2026〕97 号，2026 年 6 月 16 日成文、经国务院同意印发）: https://www.hunan.gov.cn/zqt/zcsd/202607/34034823/files/7660c23769ae4f51ac21a456fe4e0ea5.pdf
- 国家外汇管理局上海市分局《上海首批 8 家跨国公司落地本外币跨境资金集中运营新政》（55 家境内成员、10 家境外成员，归集外债额度超 500 亿元、境外放款额度超 80 亿元，2026-09-24）: https://www.safe.gov.cn/shanghai/2026/0924/2539.html
- 新华网《重庆落地首批跨国公司本外币跨境资金集中运营业务》: http://cq.xinhuanet.com/20260915/2977be25d5954b32baf3d0157d04d622/c.html
- 新华财经《跨国公司资金池政策全国推广 多地首批业务落地》: https://www.cnfin.com/gs-lb/detail/20260916/4470415_1.html
- 商务部 政策发布栏目: https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/zcfb/index.html
中国外资并购规定修订与跨国公司本外币跨境资金集中运营全国推广
概述
2026 年，面向在华外国投资者的两条政策线并行推进。投资端，《利用外资固稳促优行动方案》（商资发〔2026〕97 号，商务部、国家发展改革委、财政部印发，经国务院同意）明确：加快修订出台关于外国投资者并购境内企业的规定，优化并购管理流程和对价支付要求，强化部门监管协同；并允许符合条件的外资股权投资机构以战略投资者身份参与非相关行业上市公司证券发行。资金端，中国人民银行、国家外汇管理局于 2026 年 8 月 14 日发布、2026 年 9 月 14 日起施行关于跨国公司本外币跨境资金集中运营业务的通知。本文分别说明两份文件的内容、两套资金池制度如何并存衔接、首批业务落地情况，以及外资企业的实操路径。
行动方案承诺了什么
《利用外资固稳促优行动方案》由商务部、国家发展改革委、财政部于 2026 年 6 月 16 日成文，经国务院同意印发。其第二部分第（四）条以”完善外资并购管理制度”为题，明确：加快修订出台关于外国投资者并购境内企业的规定，优化并购管理流程和对价支付要求，强化部门监管协同；并允许符合条件的外资股权投资机构以战略投资者身份参与非相关行业上市公司证券发行。
有一点纪律需要把握。行动方案是一项政策承诺：它要求加快修订并出台，但它本身并未发布修订稿，截至本文写作时，关于外国投资者并购境内企业的修订文本尚未公开。因此投资者应以现行有效规定为操作基准，同时留意其在流程与对价支付上的方向性表述。战略投资者这一项承诺打开了一条特定通道，其实际适用范围将取决于证券与外资主管部门的实施规则。
2026 年 8 月的跨境资金池通知
中国人民银行、国家外汇管理局关于跨国公司本外币跨境资金集中运营业务有关事宜的通知，于 2026 年 8 月 14 日发布、2026 年 9 月 14 日起施行。准入方面，进一步降低资金池业务门槛，更大范围支持中小规模跨国公司搭建资金池；主办企业注册在自由贸易试验区内的，可适用更低的建池门槛。便利化方面，便利本外币跨境资金归集调拨，集中成员企业外债和境外放款额度，允许跨国公司自主决定资金归集比例，并允许使用同一账户管理本外币资金。流程方面，简化备案登记流程：由主办企业所在地外汇局分局对外办理业务备案登记，部分变更登记可直接在合作银行办理。该通知同时废止《国家外汇管理局关于印发〈跨国公司跨境资金集中运营管理规定〉的通知》（汇发〔2019〕7 号）。
其设计逻辑在于同时压低搭建资金池的固定成本与日常运行的管理成本：更低门槛扩大了适用主体范围；同一账户与自主决定归集比例，为资金团队提供灵活性；集中成员企业外债和境外放款额度，让集团可以整体运用其资产负债表；将部分变更登记移至合作银行，则缩短了企业决策到落地之间的链路。
两套并存制度：分层分类、高低搭配
一个常见的误读，是把 2026 年通知视为 2025 年 12 月全国推广的本外币一体化资金池的替代。二者是两套并存的制度：分层分类、高低搭配，服务于不同主体与不同需求，不应混为一谈。这一区分决定集团对标哪一项制度：本外币一体化资金池是更综合的制度安排；2026 年通知所覆盖的本外币跨境资金集中运营业务，是更易达成、以门槛为特征的制度。集团不宜假定符合其一即符合其二，也不宜假定在其中一项下完成的备案在另一项下同样有效。
首批业务落在哪里
官方披露显示，2026 年 9 月 14 日之后新业务推进迅速。国家外汇管理局上海市分局披露，上海首批 8 家跨国公司完成备案，涉及 55 家境内成员企业、10 家境外成员企业，归集外债额度超 500 亿元人民币、境外放款额度超 80 亿元人民币。天津两家跨国集团完成备案，可归集资金规模上限合计近千亿元人民币。浙江万凯新材料 9 月 14 日落地首单，并当日办理首笔经常项目集中收汇。福建恒申集团完成备案，重庆落地首批业务。对外国集团而言，这些案例表明备案通道已经运行，首批主体多为经常项目与融资跨境流量较大的集团。
外资企业实操路径
并购路径
按现行有效规定设计交易结构，并单独跟踪行动方案关于优化并购管理流程和对价支付要求的承诺。由于修订稿尚未发布，不要假定任何特定的新对价或流程规则；更稳妥的做法是让交易结构能够容纳流程变化，并在安排审批顺序时把强化部门监管协同这一要点纳入考虑。涉及上市公司交易的，评估符合条件的外资股权投资机构能否以战略投资者身份参与非相关行业公司的证券发行，并向证券与外资主管部门确认实施要求。
资金路径
四个问题框定选择。规模：集团属大型跨国公司还是中小规模跨国公司？2026 年通知的取向是更大范围支持后者。地点：主办企业是否注册在自由贸易试验区内？若是，可适用更低的建池门槛。制度：集团需要更综合的本外币一体化资金池，还是本外币跨境资金集中运营业务？二者各自独立，应分别评估。通道：通过主办企业所在地外汇局分局办理业务备案登记，并核实哪些变更登记可直接在合作银行办理。
来源
- 湖南省人民政府门户网站《利用外资固稳促优行动方案》官方中英对照全文（商资发〔2026〕97 号，2026 年 6 月 16 日成文、经国务院同意印发）：https://www.hunan.gov.cn/zqt/zcsd/202607/34034823/files/7660c23769ae4f51ac21a456fe4e0ea5.pdf
- 国家外汇管理局上海市分局《上海首批 8 家跨国公司落地本外币跨境资金集中运营新政》（55 家境内成员、10 家境外成员，归集外债额度超 500 亿元、境外放款额度超 80 亿元，2026-09-24）：https://www.safe.gov.cn/shanghai/2026/0924/2539.html
- 新华网《重庆落地首批跨国公司本外币跨境资金集中运营业务》：http://cq.xinhuanet.com/20260915/2977be25d5954b32baf3d0157d04d622/c.html
- 新华财经《跨国公司资金池政策全国推广 多地首批业务落地》：https://www.cnfin.com/gs-lb/detail/20260916/4470415_1.html
- 商务部 政策发布栏目：https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/zcfb/index.html