The Ministry of Transport ("MOT") has recently issued the Circular on Matters Concerning the Implementation of Policies for Foreign Investment in Domestic Ship Agency Services (the "Circular"), immediately effective from the date of issuance.
The Circular reads that: 1. water transportation authorities of all levels shall lift limits on foreign shareholding of foreign investors of domestic ship agency services, as required by the Special Administrative Measures for Foreign Investment Access (Negative List) (2019 Edition); 2. The authorities shall, under the principle of equal treatment to both domestic and foreign investors, adopt the unified administration of Chinese-funded and foreign-invested domestic ship agency service providers, and ensure effective administration of domestic ship agency service providers in accordance with laws and regulations; 3. The authorities shall ramp up the supervision and administration of business conduct of domestic ship agency service providers, establish a sound new regulatory mechanism which features "dual randomness and one publicity" inspections as the main approach supplemented by targeted oversight and is based on the credit-related regulation, and strengthen in-process and ex-post administration.