Financial Sector (Shareholdings) (Bank of China Limited) Instrument 2025
I, Jim Chalmers, Treasurer, being satisfied of the matter in paragraph 14(1)(a) of the Financial Sector (Shareholdings) Act 1998, make the following instrument.
Dated 27 June 2025
Dr Jim Chalmers
Treasurer
Contents
Part 1—Preliminary
1 Name
2 Commencement
3 Authority
4 Definitions
Part 2—Approvals to exceed 20% shareholding limit
5 Approval of application
Part 3—Revocations of approvals
6 Revocations
Part 1—Preliminary
1 Name
This instrument is the Financial Sector (Shareholdings) (Bank of China Limited) Instrument 2025.
2 Commencement
(1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.
Commencement information |
Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
Provisions | Commencement | Date/Details |
1. The whole of this instrument | The day after this instrument is registered. | |
Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.
(2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.
3 Authority
This instrument is made under the Financial Sector (Shareholdings) Act 1998.
4 Definitions
Note: Expressions have the same meaning in this instrument as in the Financial Sector (Shareholdings) Act 1998 as in force from time to time—see paragraph 13(1)(b) of the Legislation Act 2003.
In this instrument:
ABN has the meaning given by the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999.
the Act means the Financial Sector (Shareholdings) Act 1998.
Part 2—Approvals to exceed 20% shareholding limit
5 Approval of application
(1) Under paragraph 14(1)(a) of the Act, each applicant covered by subsection (2) is granted approval:
(a) to hold more than a 20% stake in the financial sector company covered by subsection (3); and
(b) to hold no more of the stake specified in the financial sector company as is specified in subsection (3).
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), an applicant is covered by this subsection if the applicant is listed in an item of the following table:
Item | Name of applicant | ABN of applicant (if any) |
1 | Central Huijin Asset Management Ltd. | — |
2 | Central Huijin Investment Ltd. | — |
3 | China Investment Corporation | — |
4 | Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China | — |
(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), a financial sector company is covered by this subsection if the company is listed in an item of the following table:
Item | Financial sector company | ABN of financial sector company (if any) | Approved holding in the financial sector company |
1 | Bank of China (Australia) Limited | 28 110 077 622 | 100% |
2 | Bank of China Limited | 29 002 979 955 | 100% |
(4) The approvals granted under subsection (1) remain in force until repealed or otherwise revoked.
Part 3—Revocations of approvals
6 Revocations
Under subsection 18(3) of the Act, each item of the following table revokes an approval granted under section 14 of the Act with the details of the approval being those specified in the item:
Item | Name of applicant | ABN of applicant (if any) | Financial sector company | ABN of financial sector company (if any) | Date approval granted |
1 | China Investment Corporation | — | Bank of China Limited | 29 002 979 955 | 19 December 2007 |
2 | China Investment Corporation | — | Bank of China (Australia) Limited | 28 110 077 622 | 19 December 2007 |
Note: The approvals listed in the table were published in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. GN1 of 9 January 2008.
Overview
The Financial Sector (Shareholdings) (Bank of China Limited) Instrument 2025 was enacted on 27 June 2025 by Dr Jim Chalmers, the Treasurer, under the Financial Sector (Shareholdings) Act 1998. This instrument was created to address the need for regulating foreign shareholdings in Australian financial institutions to maintain financial stability and national security. The Financial Sector (Shareholdings) Act 1998 empowers the Treasurer to approve or revoke shareholdings in financial sector companies, ensuring that significant foreign interests are monitored and managed. The policy objective of this instrument is to provide specific approvals for certain Chinese entities to exceed the 20% shareholding limit in designated financial sector companies, while also revoking previous approvals granted to other entities.
Scope and Application
The Financial Sector (Shareholdings) (Bank of China Limited) Instrument 2025, made under the Financial Sector (Shareholdings) Act 1998, applies to specific entities and financial sector companies listed within the instrument. The instrument grants approval to certain applicants to hold more than a 20% stake in specified financial sector companies, with the approval being applicable to entities such as Central Huijin Asset Management Ltd., Central Huijin Investment Ltd., China Investment Corporation, and the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China. These entities are permitted to hold a specified percentage of shares in companies like Bank of China (Australia) Limited and Bank of China Limited. The instrument's provisions commence on the day following its registration, and the granted approvals remain in effect until they are repealed or revoked. Additionally, the instrument revokes certain previously granted approvals, specifically those listed in the revocations table, which were originally published in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette on 9 January 2008.
Key Provisions
The Financial Sector (Shareholdings) (Bank of China Limited) Instrument 2025 (the 'Instrument') provides specific permissions and revocations concerning shareholdings in certain financial sector companies, primarily Bank of China Limited and Bank of China (Australia) Limited. Under section 5 of Part 2, the Instrument grants approval for certain applicants to hold more than a 20% stake in the specified financial sector companies, with the approval remaining in force until repealed or revoked. Specifically, this approval applies to Central Huijin Asset Management Ltd., Central Huijin Investment Ltd., China Investment Corporation, and the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China for shareholdings in Bank of China (Australia) Limited and Bank of China Limited. This approval allows these entities to hold up to 100% of the shares in these companies, as detailed in section 5(3).
The Instrument imposes certain obligations on the applicants and financial sector companies. The applicants listed must adhere to the terms of the approval granted, which include the specific shareholding limits and conditions outlined in the Instrument. The financial sector companies must ensure compliance with these shareholding limits and any conditions imposed by the Instrument. Furthermore, the applicants must maintain accurate records and provide any necessary information to the relevant authorities as required under the Financial Sector (Shareholdings) Act 1998.
Section 6 of the Instrument includes provisions for the revocation of certain approvals granted under section 14 of the Act. Specifically, the Instrument revokes the approvals previously granted to China Investment Corporation for shareholdings in Bank of China Limited and Bank of China (Australia) Limited, effective from the dates specified in the revocation table. These revocations nullify any prior permissions these entities had to exceed the 20% shareholding limit in these companies. Any breaches of the terms and conditions set out in the Instrument may result in civil or criminal consequences, including potential penalties as prescribed under the Financial Sector (Shareholdings) Act 1998. The exact penalties depend on the nature and severity of the breach, but they may include fines or other sanctions.