中國「外國投資法（草案）」對「VIE架構」之影響評估

The Impact Assessment of China’s‘Foreign Investment Law (Draft)’to‘VIE Structure’

2015年，中國國務院商務部通過了「外國投資法（草案）」，其中，該草案將中國原有之「VIE架構」（Variable Interest Entities，又稱「協議控制」）做進一步規範。實際以人的「國籍」，決定其企業體是否為外資企業。該草案一反過去對「VIE架構」中「選擇性監管」之態度。「外國投資法（草案）」之公布，對中國內部擁有境外股權，並以之作為避稅手法之企業體，有極大之影響。本文旨在研究「外國投資法（草案）」對於中國境內現採「VIE架構」之企業，其立法前後可能產生之影響。本文首先介紹「VIE架構」之發展歷程，並依法律建構之前後，分別論述其影響評估。進而，透由「VIE架構」之發展歷史，以及「外國投資法（草案）」之建構基礎，反映出中國自改革開放後，朝向國家資本化之確切目標。該草案若能立法，無疑讓中國的投資環境進入一嶄新領域，而往後所產生的正反效應，殊值立法後驗證之。

In 2015, the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China passed the draft of the Foreign Investment Law, which further regulates China's original Variable Interest Entities (VIE) (also known as''agreement control'');in fact, the nationality of an enterprise is determined by considering by whether the enterprise is a foreigninvested company. The draft goes against the attitude of selective regulation in the VIE structure. The announcement of the draft Foreign Investment Law has had a great impact on the offshore ownership of China's internal equity and its use as a tax avoidance method. This paper studies the impact of the draft Foreign Investment Law on companies that have adopted the VIE structure in China both before and after the new legislation was announced. This paper introduces the development process of the VIE structure and discusses its varying impact assessments before and after the new law is established. Through the development history of the VIE structure and the foundation of the draft Foreign Investment Law, the exact goal of China's move towards capitalization after reforming and opening-up is highlighted. If the draft is legislated, it will undoubtedly allow China's investment environment to enter into new areas, and both the positive and negative effects generated in the future will be verified after legislation.