CHINA’S authorities have sounded the alarm in recent weeks over the risk of capital outflows from the economy, but there was little evidence at Beijing and Shanghai banks Tuesday that Chinese individuals were rushing to lock in 2017 quotas to buy foreign exchange.

    Only a trickle of people at banks were seen selling yuan for U.S. dollars on the first business day of the new year, when buyers in theory could have made use of their quotas.

    Under China’s capital controls, individuals are permitted to buy up to US$50,000 in foreign exchange a year, and data show January is typically a standout month for onshore foreign currency deposits.

    The yuan shed nearly 7 percent against the dollar last year, its poorest showing since 1994, as policymakers moved to contain capital outflows and preserve foreign exchange reserves in the face of a slowing economy and resurgent dollar.

    Authorities have tightened monitoring of foreign exchange transactions out of concern over capital outflows.

    China’s currency regulator this week began requiring Chinese individuals who want to buy foreign currencies to specify the purpose of the purchase and provide additional information, and said it would monitor transactions more closely and frequently as well as punish rule-breakers.

    At major bank branches in two of China’s biggest cities, there were no queues Tuesday, and the few individuals who changed money reported doing so with relative ease.

    “The whole process of changing money was pretty smooth and quick,” said an office worker surnamed Xu, who withdrew US$500 from an ICBC branch in Beijing on Tuesday for a coming vacation in the United States.

    Several other customers at banks in the two cities reported similar ease when changing amounts of money well below the quota.

    However, it is unclear how much foreign currency exchange was being conducted online Tuesday. Central bank data show onshore foreign exchange deposits rose by almost 32 percent in the first 11 months of 2016, propelled in part by the yuan’s fall to eight-year lows.

    (SD-Agencies)