Key takeaways

• On August 18, 2017, the State Council of China released a new set of guidelines on overseas investment by Chinese companies, restricting what it described to be “irrational” or “non-genuine” overseas investments, including investments in real estate, hotels, film studios and entertainment and sporting organizations.
• The Guidelines classify overseas investments into three categories: encouraged, restricted and prohibited, with different treatment for each category. Any overseas investment activities not included in the Guidelines are presumably permitted by the government. 
• The Guidelines do not directly address investments by Chinese insurance companies. Therefore the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, which did not participate in the formulation of the Guidelines, may establish a more sophisticated overseas investment framework.