OREANDA-NEWS. June 22, 2011. Air China Ltd. and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (386) are among companies withholding 20 percent of dividend payments to foreigners as they await guidance on how to handle the unwinding of a 17-year-old tax exemption.

 China’s State Administration of Taxation repealed in December a 1993 exemption from dividends tax for individual foreign holders listed in share registries of companies with Hong Kong-listed H shares and China-listed B shares. The decision was announced Jan. 4. Air China, the world’s largest airline by market value, said it is temporarily withholding 20 percent of dividends pending a clarification of the policy.

 “We are aware of the mainland dividend issues and have been trying to learn more about the taxation policy from the relevant mainland authorities,” said Lorraine Chan, a spokeswoman for Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing ltd., the city’s main bourse.

 The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, a gauge of Chinese companies listed in the city, has retreated 11 percent since April 8, boosting the measure’s dividend yield to 3 percent, data compiled by Bloomberg show. China’s efforts to control inflation, combined with a slowing recovery in the U.S. and the European debt crisis, sent valuations in the gauge to less than 10 times estimated earnings, the lowest since March 2009.

 Individuals whose names appear in share registries of Chinese companies may be subject to a 20 percent dividend tax. Institutional investors and owners whose shares are held through a custodian have tax deducted from their dividends at the corporate rate of 10 percent, the company filings show.

 ‘Pretty Small Numbers’
China Petroleum, Asia’s biggest oil refiner, reported net income of 71.8 billion yuan (USD 11.1 billion) in March and declared a final dividend of 0.13 yuan a share. The company is withholding HKD 4.2 million (USD 539,200) from individual investors, less than 0.2 percent of its total dividend on 16.8 billion shares listed in Hong Kong, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Air China is holding back less than HKD 1 million.

 “For the companies we looked at, the numbers are pretty small as a percentage of total profit, so we don’t think the market impact will be significant,” said Todd Martin, Asia equity strategist at Societe Generale SA in Hong Kong.

 The repealing of the 1993 exemption was part of an ongoing effort to confirm the validity of older tax rulings, said Jon Eichelberger, a Beijing-based tax partner at law firm Baker & McKenzie.

 ‘Wait and See’
“Sometimes it’s not totally clear if the policy no longer applies, or if there’s a more technical problem,” said Eichelberger. “The companies are likely taking a wait-and-see approach because the details of how they should comply with their withholding obligations have not been clarified. ”

 China’s tax administration did not immediately respond to requests for information.

 Companies that have announced they will temporarily withhold a portion of their dividends are China National Building Material Co., China Longyuan Power Group Corp., Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer Co., Beijing Jingkelong Supermarket Chain Group Co. and Capinfo Co.

 China Construction Bank Corp. (939), the nation’s second-largest bank, said it is seeking clarification from the tax bureau on how and when to start withholding the 20 percent dividend tax for holders of their Hong Kong-listed shares, according to its investor relations hotline. The lender is scheduled to make a dividend payment of 0.2122 yuan per share on July 15.