The China Banking Regulatory Commission has released regulations for the establishment and operation of non-bank financial institutions, effective as of 9 August. Henceforth, operating licences will only be granted when the requirements are met. The regulations apply to trust companies, corporate financial units, financial leasing companies, currency dealers, and representative offices of overseas non-bank financial institutions. A trust company should have registered capital of at least CNY300 million ($40 million), and both domestic and foreign shareholders will have to hold the stake in a trust company for at least three years, the CBRC said. No single foreign investor is permitted to hold more than 20 per cent in one trust company and a maximum of two foreign financial institutions will be able to invest in a single company. Barclays Bank recently agreed to buy a 19.9 per cent stake in New China Trust & Investment, one of the country's oldest trust firms, while UBS, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley are all looking for potential investments. For corporate financial units, the minimum registered capital requirement is CNY100 million, and the corporation that sets up the financial unit should have total assets over CNY5 billion and revenue over CNY4 billion a year, the regulator said. Foreign investors should have total assets over $1 billion, and once an investment is made, they have to hold it for at least three years. Financial leasing companies should have a registered capital of at least CNY100 million. Commercial banks wishing to set up such companies should have a capital adequacy ratio of at least eight per cent and total assets of over CNY80 billion. Foreign banks will also have to satisfy this capital adequacy requirement before they can make an investment, although their investment is limited to 50 per cent of a single company. The registered capital requirement for currency dealers is CNY20 million. Foreigners are required to have operated in the currency dealing business for at least 20 years and have had a representative office in China for at least two years before they can invest in a China-based dealer.