China suspends forex services to over 1500 companies

China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has suspended its foreign exchange (forex) services to over 1,500 companies nationwide. This follows reform to the foreign exchange management system for cargo trade in August. SAFE found companies were hardly doing any business during its surveys, said an SAFE announcement Monday. SAFE also limited its services to more than 700 companies nationwide for their unlawful acts concerning forex transactions, including arbitration of exchange and evasion of exchange control. The month-long reform contains measures of simplifying procedures of forex selling and purchasing, fine-tuning steps of customs clearance and promoting forex business supervision, said the announcement. SAFE, General Administration of Customs and State Administration of Taxation jointly launched the reform on August 1st, 2012. The reform promoted the efficiency of forex sale and purchase businesses by cutting relevant licensing requirement items from 19 to four.