The investment quota allowed to China's qualified
domestic institutional investors (QDII) has reached US$42.17
billion by the end of September, statistics from the country's
forex watchdog shows.
A total investment of US$10.86 billion has already
been made in overseas markets by the end of September, according to
Li Dongrong, deputy head of the State Administration of Foreign
Exchange (SAFE), which sanctions the quota.
The QDII scheme, launched in last July, allows
mainland institutions and residents to entrust mainland commercial
banks to invest in overseas financial products, and allows
insurance institutions to invest some of their assets in overseas
fixed-income products and monetary market products.
Li said the QDII program offers more channels of
investment for mainland residents, who are not allowed to directly
invest in overseas markets, and has become an effective channel for
them to decentralize risks.
He said the administration would continue to
promote the QDII program steadily, and vowed to strengthen
supervision.
So far, 21 commercial banks, including both Chinese
and foreign banks like HSBC China, Deutsche Bank, the Agriculture
Bank of China and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, have been
allowed a combined quota of US$16.1 billion.
Another five fund management firms, such as China
Asset Management Corp, enjoy a combined investment quota of US$19.5
billion, while 14 insurance companies, including Ping An of China
and China Life Insurance, hold the remaining US$6.57 billion.
(Xinhua News Agency November 5, 2007)
