US$100b in controlled flow under QFII

Source: Xinhua | 2018-09-03

A total of 287 overseas institutions have received quotas amounting to US$100.46 billion under China’s Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors program to move money into the country’s capital account, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

As of August 30, the quota in the Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors program totaled 627.4 billion yuan (US$91.8 billion).

The RMB, also known as the yuan, is convertible for trade purposes under the current account, while the capital account, which covers portfolio investment and borrowing, is largely run by the state in an effort to control capital flows in and out of the country.

To gradually open the capital account, the government introduced the QFII in 2003 and RQFII in 2011. They give foreign investors the right to move money into the account to encourage controlled flows.

The RQFII program is currently open to countries and regions including Hong Kong, Britain, Singapore, France, Republic of Korea, Germany, Qatar, Canada, Australia, and Luxembourg.

The Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor program, a scheme that allows domestic investors to access foreign assets, totaled US$103.2 billion.