Shanghai's foreign exchange regulator has highlighted the monitoring of overseas capital inflows to the local property market as a key task this year.

　　The State Administration of Foreign Exchange's Shanghai Bureau said yesterday it will keep a close watch on the inflows of speculative capital and money laundering this year, especially on hot funds going into the overheating property market.

　　"Given Shanghai's fast economic growth, it is natural for the city to become a destination for large capital," said Zheng Yang, deputy director of the bureau. "But we will continue to monitor where the capital is going to."

　　The SAFE also pointed out it has required local commercial banks to report timely on the transfers of large sums of overseas capital to the city.

　　"As the inflows of overseas capital to the local real estate market were obvious last year, we will try to ward off risks generated from these speculative capital this year," said Chen Yongfu, deputy president of the People's Bank of China's Shanghai branch.

　　About 5 percent of transactions in Shanghai's residential market were conducted by non-Chinese last year, according to Jones Lang LaSalle, a real estate consulting firm.

　　Earlier this month, Shanghai's municipal government imposed a property transaction tax on property held for less than a year as part of its curbing efforts.

　　(Shanghai Daily)