Recently, Guangzhou Municipal People's Government issued several policy measures for promoting high-quality development of the biomedical industry in Guangzhou. The measures include the encouragement of QFLP to invest in biomedical projects. The government gives priority to QFLP who invest in biomedical enterprises. More detailed implementation rules are to be expected.
What is QFLP (Qualified Foreign Limited Partner)
Qualified Foreign Limited Partner, refers to foreign institutional investors who, after passing the qualification approval and supervision procedures of their foreign funds, invest in the domestic PE and VC markets. It is one of the most important channels for foreign investors to raise funds overseas (and/or domestically) and carry out domestic equity investments.
The policy of QFLP pilot was first launched in Shanghai in 2010, and then gradually expanded to Beijing, Chongqing, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Hainan, etc. Up to now, more than 20 regions in China have piloted QFLP policies. Each region has emphasized its special target of encouraging industries. Below table summarizes a general overview of the different targets in some advanced cities in China.
Date | Region | Encouraging investment areas |
Jun. 2023 | Nanjing | Software and information services, smart grids, biopharmaceuticals, and integrated circuits. |
Sep. 2023 | Shanghai | Technology innovation fields or high-tech enterprises |
Oct. 2023 | Guangzhou | Science and technology enterprises. |
Nov. 2023 | Guangzhou | Innovative manufacturing enterprises. |
Support measures such as convenient channels in foreign exchange settlement and taxation treatment are offered to QFLPs to encourage the inbound investment in China:
(i) Overall quota management. Once the QFLP investment quota is approved, the QFLP funds can set up one or several funds in China within the quota, and adjust the investment scale of different funds.
(ii) Exempt of re-investment registration. For foreign-invested enterprises conducting domestic equity reinvestment in pilot areas (not allowed to directly or indirectly invest in real estate), the invested enterprise or equity transferor does not need to register for domestic reinvestment. The fund transfer bank can directly transfer the relevant investment funds to the foreign exchange capital account of the invested enterprise or equity transferor.
(iii) Simplified the tax process of fund remittance. Such as using a tax commitment letter instead of providing a tax payment certificate for cross-border income and expenditure before QFLP fund liquidation.
However, in terms of the tax treatment on the QFLP, the domestic tax regulation has not offered an entirely clear definition. Questions such as whether QFLPs are entitled to a tax treaty beneficiary treatment, the taxation timing and income tax rules are yet to be clarified. Given the current situation in China, a case-by-case discussion with the tax bureau in China could be still necessary
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