According to an announcement released by the People’s Bank of China (PBC) on the 17th, since the issuance of the Overall Plan for the Construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port in 2020, the PBC has continuously improved the financial policy and institutional system compatible with the Hainan Free Trade Port (HNFTZ). It has solidly advanced various tasks related to financial reform, development, and stability, providing strong support for the initial formation and take-off of the HNFTZ’s construction.
All three financial preparations for full-island closure completed
(1) The cross-border capital flow management system has been further improved. The Measures for the Administration of Multi-Functional Free Trade Account Business in the Hainan Free Trade Port has been formulated and issued, providing institutional guarantees for the free flow of cross-border capital.
(2) The multi-functional free trade account (EF Account) has been put into operation. By the end of October 2025, 11 banks in Hainan had launched the EF Account, with total business volume exceeding RMB 250 billion (converted). Account holders have conducted fund transfers with 80 countries and regions.
(3) The cross-border capital flow monitoring and early warning mechanism has been further strengthened.
Continuous optimization of financial services in the free trade port
(1) Steady progress has been made in the full-domain pilot of digital renminbi (e-CNY) in Hainan.
(2) The level of facilitation for foreign-related payments has been significantly improved.
(3) The transformation and upgrading of Hainan Free Trade Port’s gold industry have been advanced. In December 2025, the Sanya Designated Warehouse of the Shanghai Gold Exchange was officially put into use.
Guided by policies, financial institutions have continuously supported the construction of the HNFTZ through comprehensive financial services in recent years. Bank of China (BOC) stated that on the first day of the launch of the EF Account business, it opened EF Accounts for multiple enterprises and completed the first transactions across all scenarios, including cross-first-line border, cross-second-line border, foreign exchange settlement and sale, and overseas lending. As of the end of November 2025, the EF Account business volume of BOC Hainan Branch reached RMB 50.3 billion. China Construction Bank (CCB) has continuously increased credit support for science and technology enterprises, strategic emerging industries, and specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative enterprises. As of the end of November, the balance of loans to high-tech industries by CCB Hainan Branch exceeded RMB 2.6 billion, including over RMB 1.1 billion in new loans issued this year. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) Hainan Branch noted that in recent years, it has accurately directed credit resources to Hainan’s four pillar industries – tourism, modern service industry, high-tech industry, and tropical characteristic high-efficiency agriculture. As of the end of September 2025, the bank’s loans to these four pillar industries reached nearly RMB 400 billion, a 36% increase compared with the beginning of 2022.
“The financial practice of the Hainan Free Trade Port is writing a new chapter of reform and opening-up in the new era,” said Tian Lihui, a professor of finance at Nankai University. He suggested that in the future, the financial sector should empower the high-quality development of the HNFTZ in multiple aspects. Firstly, institutional upgrading: deepen the functions of EF Accounts and explore an integrated domestic and foreign currency fund pool. Secondly, industrial upgrading: develop innovative tools such as carbon finance and REITs around characteristic industries including tourism consumption and the digital economy. Thirdly, technological upgrading: expand e-CNY application scenarios and build an intelligent regulatory system. In addition, Tian proposed that the financial sector should strengthen financial cooperation with Southeast Asian countries and regions participating in the “Belt and Road” Initiative, and promote the internationalization of the renminbi.
“The financial development of the Hainan Free Trade Port needs to balance three key aspects: opening-up and security, innovation and compliance, and efficiency and fairness. It should become a new benchmark for serving the dual circulation and leading financial opening-up”, Tian emphasized.