The long-anticipated detailed rules for capital-account transactions, which will allow companies operating in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone to borrow abroad under a simpler regulatory regime, have been released.

The new process may help FTZ-registered companies cut their financing costs in half.

The announcement of the rules on Thursday means that the capital-account has effectively been opened for companies in the FTZ, said Zhang Xin, deputy head of the Shanghai Head Office of the People's Bank of China.