The SAFE Releases Data on Foreign Exchange Settlement and Sales on behalf of Clients by Banks and Da
According to the data collected by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), the amount of foreign exchange settlement by banks on behalf of clients between April and June in 2010 amounted to USD107.4 billion, USD96.2 billion and USD108.7 billion respectively, added up to USD312.3 billion. And the amount of foreign exchange sales by banks on behalf of clients between April and June in 2010, amounted to USD71 billion, USD80.1 billion and USD94.7, aggregated to USD245.8 billion. The surplus of foreign exchange settlement and sales in each month of the second quarter amounted to USD36.4 billion, USD16.1 billion and USD14 billion respectively, totally USD66.5 billion.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Foreign-related receipts of domestic banks on behalf of clients between April and June in 2010 amounted to USD145.7 billion, USD137.2 billion and USD161.5 billion respectively, added up to USD444.4 billion. While foreign-related payments of domestic banks on behalf of clients between April and June in 2010 amounted to USD123.2 billion, USD120.4 billion and USD 140.5 billion respectively, USD384.1 billion in total. The surplus of foreign-related receipts and payments in each month of the second quarter reached USD22.5 billion, USD16.8 billion and USD21 billion respectively, added up to USD60.3 billion.
Appendix: Glossary
Balance of payments (BOP) refers to all economic transactions between residents and non-residents of <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />China, including all financial transactions and barter transactions that result in changes in the assets and liabilities of residents and non-residents.
Foreign exchange settlement and sales on behalf of clients by banks refer to the business of foreign exchange settlement and sales conducted by designated foreign exchange banks for their clients, excluding the data on foreign exchange settlement and sales conducted by designated foreign exchange banks on their own behalf and data on inter-bank foreign exchange market transactions. The period when the conversion between the RMB and the foreign currency occurs shall be regarded as the time point for the statistics. Among which, foreign exchange settlement refers to the sale of foreign exchange to designated foreign exchange banks by owners of foreign exchange, while foreign exchange sales refers to the sale of foreign exchange by designated foreign exchange banks to users of foreign exchange. The balance of foreign exchange settlement and sales refer to the difference that occurs during the process of foreign exchange settlement and sales business. The difference that occurs during the foreign exchange settlement and sales process will be balanced by the transactions made by inter-bank in foreign exchange market. The difference is also one of the root reasons that have an impact on the balance of foreign exchange reserve, rather than the actual balance of the foreign exchange reserve.
Foreign-related receipts and payments of banks on behalf of clients refer to the receipts and payments between domestic non-bank residential institutions and individuals (hereinafter referred to as the non-bank sector) and non-residential institutions and individuals via domestic banks, excluding receipts and payments in cash and foreign-related receipts and payments of banks themselves, including cross-border receipts and payments between non-bank sectors and non-residents via domestic banks (including foreign exchange and the Renminbi), and domestic receipts and payments between the non-bank sectors and non-residents via domestic banks (currently including receipts and payments in foreign exchange and receipts and payments in RMB under the RMB settlement account for cross-border trade); the time when the clients of banks conduct foreign-related receipts and payments at domestic banks shall be regarded as the time point for the statistics. Specifically, foreign-related receipts of banks on behalf of clients refer to the monetary amounts collected by non-bank sectors from non-residents via domestic banks, while foreign-related payments of banks on behalf of clients refer to the monetary amounts paid by the non-bank sector to non-residents via domestic banks.
The foreign-related receipts and payments of banks on behalf of clients is an integral part of the balance of payments statistics, which reflects the scope of foreign-related receipts and payments between the domestic non-bank sector and non-residents via domestic banks, i.e., the condition of fund flows between the domestic non-bank sector and non-residents. It does not reflect the barter transactions and foreign-related transactions conducted by the banks themselves; the scope of the statistics of foreign-related receipts and payments of banks on behalf of clients is smaller than that of the balance of payments statistics. The accounting method for statistics on foreign-related receipts and payments of banks on behalf of clients carried out on a cash basis is different from the accrual basis of accounting required by the balance of payments statistics.
