China’s rich scramble to move cash abroad

For many in the ranks of China’s wealthy, the shock devaluation in the yuan is a cause of regret — that they hadn’t moved more money offshore sooner.

Now many are scrambling to shift cash out of the country, fearful that this week’s devaluation is the start of a longer-term slide in the currency, despite the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) saying there is no basis for more depreciation.

“With the devaluation, I’ve just lost several hundred thousand yuan,” said businessmen Tang Wei, who is moving assets out of China, partly to fund the living and schooling of his son in Canada next year. “In my case, there’s a real need for foreign currency, so it would be better to move money out sooner than later. China’s economy doesn’t look very good.”