Expatriates working in Shanghai and foreigners who have acquired a permanent-residency permit are expected to be included in the city's social-security system.
The Shanghai Labor and Social Security Bureau said it had submitted the social-insurance draft and is waiting for the official go-ahead from the city government. If it is approved, qualified candidates will be allowed to join the city's pension, medical and industrial-injury insurance systems on level terms with their Shanghai-native counterparts.

Shanghai Housing Fund Management Center promulgated that, from July 1st 2008, the salary base used for computing maximum and minimum limits of employees’ housing fund contribution is adjusted to the monthly average salary of 2007.
Employee’s and employer’s separate contribution proportion maintains at the rate of 7% and the separate contribution proportion for supplementary housing fund is 1% to 8% (actual contribution proportion is determined by each employer according to the actual situation). The maximum contribution amount is RMB 1214 while the minimum limit is RMB 134.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has announced a trial basis for non-financial institutions in mainland China to offer currency exchange services to individuals in Beijing and Shanghai. The new exchange rules will allow domestic and overseas individuals to buy or sell foreign currency through authorised money changers at an annual quota of USD50, 000 (RMB343, 200) per person. A JV between Zhangjiang Group and Britain-based International Currency Exchange-Shanghai Zhangjiang ICE Foreign Exchange will be the first non-financial company to offer the currency exchange service in Shanghai.

With effect from 19 September 2008, China will resume visa-free facility for Singaporeans making short visits using ordinary passports.
The visa-free facility will cover Singaporeans visiting China for purposes of business, tourism, or social visits, or those transiting within 15 days.
The visa-free arrangement was suspended on July 1. Following the Olympic and Paralympic Games, China's visa policy continues to serve the national interest and facilitate the normal personnel exchanges between China and foreign countries.

According to the announcement of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, new rules were established in order to enable it to carry out checks on the use of foreign currency by multinational firms. Moreover, foreign firms will not be allowed to exchange foreign currency into renminbi to invest in equities. Although China does not publish the figure on hot money, according to a frequently used estimate, it is totalled USD130bn in the first half of 2008.

The government has announced that, import taxes on spare parts of large equipment is cut and the import tariff exemption on some complete sets is canceled, with purpose to support the domestic manufacturing of large equipment.
Taxes levied on domestic enterprises for importing key spare parts of large equipment would be refunded and injected into the enterprises as investment from the nation. Key spare parts of equipment include ultra- and extra-high voltage transmission equipment and transformers, large petro-chemical equipment and large coal-chemical equipment.
The policy applied to imports after 1st January 2008, depending on the date of declaration of imports. The import of some complete sets of equipment by enterprises approved after 1st September 2008 would no longer enjoy the tax exemption. Imports of such equipment by enterprises approved before 1st September would continue to enjoy the previous tax policies until 1st March 2009.

On 31 July, a circular on the adjustment of VAT rebate rates for certain exports including textiles and garments is issued by the Ministry of Finance (Cai Shui [2008] No. 111). Effective from 1 August 2008, VAT rebate rates for certain textiles and garments will go up from 11% to 13%, and bamboo products will be increased to 11%. VAT rebates for high energy consumption, high pollution and resource consumption products will be scrapped.
For enterprises exporting products that are no longer eligible for VAT rebates, since prices agreed in contracts cannot be revised, they may file the export contracts signed before 1 August 2008 with the local VAT rebate office before 15 August 2008 for records. The original VAT rebates will still be applied to products exported before 1 January 2009 under such contracts.

The new rules also deleted the article banning the foreign listing of domestic telecom enterprises without approval from industry supervisors. The proportion of foreign investments should not surpass 49 percent of the total investment in a company for basic services, which could not be over 50 percent for operators doing value-added services.

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