Prior Business Registration Approval Now Only Required in 32 Commercial Sectors

Prior approval for officially registering businesses is now only required in 32 commercial sectors. The still-restricted sectors include a number of categories deemed sensitive or in particular need of monitoring, most notably securities companies, monopoly tobacco production licences, overseas insurance companies’ mainland offices and express delivery services.

The full list of sectors requiring prior approval is detailed in a recent circular by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC), published in line with an earlier ruling by the State Council.

For further details, please refer to the following websites:

Five Further Sectors Freed from Business Registration Prior Approval Requirement (in English)

Circular of the SAIC on Adjusting the Catalogue of Prior Approval Items for Business Registration (in Chinese)