THE government will set an annual cap on cash withdrawals overseas using domestic bank cards, domestic media said Tuesday, as fears over capital outflows in the world’s second-largest economy grow.

    China UnionPay — which provides almost all the country’s bank cards — will limit annual withdrawals to 100,000 yuan (US$16,000) each year, China National Radio (CNR) said.

    Effective from the start of 2016, the limit comes amid reports that investors are increasingly moving capital abroad in search of higher returns as economic growth slows.

    The restrictions are aimed at “further enhancing the work on anti-money laundering and the prevention of financial risks,” CNR quoted UnionPay as saying.

    The card provider currently caps the amount of cash users can withdraw overseas at the equivalent of 10,000 yuan per day.

    State regulators have ordered financial institutions to boost controls on foreign exchange transactions, reports said last month.

    Worries about financial outflows from China have deepened since the government moved its currency almost 5 percent lower in a single week in August, a move seen as an attempt to boost flagging exports.

    (SD-Agencies)