(Yicai) March 13 -- Banks in southern Guangdong province processed 41 registrations for overseas debt by private businesses in January and February amounting to USD733 million after the Chinese government eased curbs at the end of last year to make it easier for businesses to raise financing from international sources.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange simplified cross-border financing in December last year, by allowing local banks to handle both the registration for foreign debt and the opening of foreign debt accounts, whereas before the former had to go through a SAFE branch. It also extended the facility to tech startups to help meet their financing needs.

“My company recently applied for CNY100 million (USD13.9 million) of foreign debt at a bank and withdrew the money successfully,” a manager at company based in Jiangmen, Guangdong province told Yicai.

“The whole process is much easier now. Before, in order to open a foreign debt account and buy overseas debt, my company needed to first register at a SAFE branch, which involved a round trip of 100 kilometers. But now it can complete the whole process at a nearby bank,” he added.

The new policy grants tech-based SMEs, which have limited assets at the startup stage, a higher borrowing limit of up to USD10 million, helping them to raise the funds they need to finance their scientific research and the commercialization of technology.

The Guangdong branch of SAFE had completed 47 cross-border financing facilitation registrations as of the end of last month, amounting to USD202 million.

Editor: Kim Taylor