As the Hainan Free Trade Port officially launched island-wide special customs operations on Thursday, the free and convenient flow of cross-border capital may become a crucial engine for its high-level opening-up.

The Hainan branch of Bank of China, whose history can be traced back to 1914, continues to play a significant financial role in Hainan province's opening-up.

The branch has been focusing on key areas such as goods trade and cross-border investment and financing to promote the implementation of cross-border settlement, exchange facilitation, and integrated investment and financing service mechanisms. It is also furthering the innovative application of Electronic Fence Accounts (or EF accounts, officially known as "multi-functional free trade accounts"), to enhance the freedom and convenience of cross-border capital flows and provide strong support for Hainan in establishing a high-level, open financial system.

Following the launch of the Hainan FTP's island-wide special customs operations, the branch is developing exclusive service solutions for "cross-border finance plus industrial chain". Especially against the background of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership framework and Hainan's cooperation with the Middle East, it hopes to encourage more local enterprises to engage in cross-border renminbi settlement, investment and financing.

In terms of services for daily life, the branch is accelerating the implementation of the 10 financial service measures aimed at benefiting people's lives, expanding domestic demand and promoting consumption, launched at the beginning of this year. It continues to improve the supply capacity of financial services such as housing mortgages, consumer loans and FTP-themed credit cards.

Additionally, the branch continues to leverage the strengths of BOC's Hainan financial research institute, a key provincial think tank, to conduct in-depth research on the theory of a free trade port with Chinese characteristics, actively participate in planning related to the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) and the financial field, and provide advisory input, thereby contributing BOC's expertise to the high-quality development of the Hainan FTP following the launch of island-wide operations.

In 1914, BOC's Qiongzhou branch was established in Haikou, the capital city of Hainan, becoming an early modern banking institution in the province. At that time, there was frequent remittance between Hainan Island and Southeast Asia, and BOC took on the mission of being an "international exchange bank", delivering remittance notes from overseas Chinese to the island. The exchange route tightly connected Hainan Island with the world, insiders said.

BOC set up its first overseas agency in London in 1929 and now has more than 600 branches in more than 60 countries and regions worldwide. Its Hainan branch is an important hub for its cross-border finance. Rooted in Hainan for 111 years, the branch has always had strong core competencies in cross-border finance.

Relevant officials from the Hainan branch said that the global network advantage of BOC can provide integrated "local plus overseas" service support for Hainan enterprises to "bring in and go out".

The branch also benefits from a diversified platform advantage, collaborating with comprehensive operating companies such as BOC International Holdings, offering services like issuance of related bonds and high-end equipment introduction.

With the strong institutional support from BOC's head office, the Hainan branch has made great efforts during the establishment of the Hainan FTP to implement the comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement signed with the Hainan provincial government. It has formulated policies for supporting the construction of the Hainan FTP and received preferential support in credit resources, talent resources, technology resources and assessment mechanisms to serve the establishment of the Hainan FTP with concrete actions.

To back the construction, BOC's head office has established the BOC Hainan financial research institute in the province to provide robust think tank support for financial opening-up and innovation in the Hainan FTP.

BOC, as a highly globalised and integrated bank, is highly aligned with the Hainan FTP's goal of benchmarking against the highest forms of opening-up and promoting high-level financial openness, according to relevant officials from the Hainan branch.

During a recent Hainan-themed event, more than 50 reporters conducted an on-site visit to the cross-border financial service counters at the Hainan branch to gain an in-depth understanding of the policy background and practical operation processes of EF accounts.

On May 6, 2024, the business management measures for the Hainan FTP EF accounts came into effect and such accounts were officially launched on the same day. The Hainan branch opened EF accounts for several enterprises that day. By the end of November 2025, the branch's business volume of EF accounts had reached 50.3 billion yuan ($7.14 billion), covering more than 10 types of businesses such as offshore trade and foreign debt.

The branch has been dedicated to creating tailor-made financial solutions to address various "pain points" and "difficulties" in cross-border financial services for enterprises.

Recently, Long Minqi, a manager at Hainan ITG, processed a foreign exchange payment to Singapore amounting to $130,500 for goods procurement. Long said that by simply submitting a payment application through online banking and instructing the staff at BOC's Hainan branch, the foreign exchange payment could be processed.

"It is very convenient, and the payment can be completed in less than an hour," said Long, adding that it greatly improved work efficiency.

Tian Ting, an assistant manager at Zheshang Development Group (Hainan), said that EF accounts have brought convenience to handling cross-border business for enterprises.

"The traditional process for overseas loans required us to submit a large amount of paperwork offline for foreign exchange registration, filing and opening a loan account. Now, through the EF account, the process is streamlined and handled through a one-stop online service,"Tian said.

As a leading enterprise in the bulk commodity circulation sector, Zheshang Development has a large business scale and strong capital demand. After opening an EF account, the company fully utilized its advantages of "no prior registration, no special account management, and flexible and efficient limits", effectively addressing the pain points and difficulties of tight funds and high financing costs for an overseas trading company.

The Hainan branch said it believes that the best cross-border finance is not services but solutions. Focusing on the leading industries of the Hainan FTP, the bank customizes a matrix of solutions for enterprises.

- AD