The Circular states that: 1. for the purpose of this Circular, the term "foreign institutional investors" refers to foreign institutional investors of different types specified in such documents as the Announcement of the People's Bank of China [2016] No.3 – Announcement on Further Working Effectively on Matters Concerning Investment Made by Foreign Institutional Investors in the Interbank Bond Market. 2. For the purpose of this Circular, the term "settlement period" means the number of working days between the trade date and the settlement date. 3. The settlement periods for bond transactions may be extended under the following specific rules: 1) four different settlement periods including T+0, T+1, T+2 and T+3 are available for foreign institutional investors engaged in bond transactions; 2) the scope of application for the extended settlement period: the T+3 settlement period is applicable if a party to the settlement of a bond transaction is a foreign institutional investor; and 3) the categories of settlement business eligible for the extended settlement period cover spot bonds transactions, pledge-style repo, outright repo and bond-for-bond lending.