PBOC and SAFE to Expand Multinational Companies’ RMB-Foreign Currency Integrated Cash Pool Nationwide
China’s central bank (PBOC) and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) have issued a notice to roll out a pilot program nationwide allowing multinational companies to operate integrated cash pools that combine RMB and foreign-currency balances. The move aims to simplify intra-group capital collection and usage, deepen financial opening, and support high-quality development of the real economy. The notice excludes financial institutions, local government financing vehicles and real estate companies from participating in cash-pool operations, except where a finance company acts as the sponsoring enterprise. This policy expands on earlier regional pilots and is intended to improve cross-border treasury efficiency for multinational corporate groups.
Neutral
The nationwide rollout of RMB-foreign currency integrated cash pools is primarily a regulatory and operational change affecting corporate treasury and cross-border capital management rather than a direct cryptocurrency market event. For crypto markets, impacts are likely indirect and limited: 1) Improved cross-border cash management for multinationals could marginally reduce operational reliance on stablecoins or crypto-based treasury solutions, creating a slight bearish signal for crypto treasury service demand. 2) Clearer, more efficient FX and onshore-offshore liquidity management may increase confidence in China’s broader financial liberalization, which could be neutral to mildly supportive for onshore tokenization projects but not cause immediate price moves in major cryptocurrencies. 3) Excluding financial institutions and property firms reduces systemic risk of misused pools, supporting market stability. Overall, expect little near-term volatility in major crypto assets; any effects would be gradual and tied to corporate treasury adoption trends rather than spot trading.