新规则扩展外国私募股权投资在上海的机会New rules extend opportunities for foreign private equity in Shanghai.pdfVIP

Client briefing January 2011 New rules extend opportunities for foreign private equity in Shanghai Rules issued in late December offer further clarity on the opportunities for foreign private equity (PE) fund managers and their investors in Shanghai. Key Issues The new rules, the latest opening up of Shanghais nascent PE industry to Background foreign capital, offer a stronger regulatory framework for the launch and management of onshore Renminbi (RMB) funds and may make it easier for Key issues qualified foreign investors to convert foreign currency into RMB for onward Opportunities and limitations under the investment. pilot programme However, while offering a welcome upgrade to the regime for foreign PE Conclusions investors, considerable uncertainty remains as to how foreign-invested RMB funds will actually be able to operate in practice and how their activities may be treated outside the Shanghai area. The briefing explains the background to the changes, the new opportunities available, and explores some of the grey areas that remain in the regulation and its likely operation. Background Shanghais authorities have long sought to boost the development of a private equity (PE) industry in Shanghai, seeing it as an important part of the citys de