China's foreign exchange authority has awarded additional investment quotas totaling US$325 million to two qualified foreign institutional investors (QFII).

 

The two QFIIs are Nikko Asset Management Co. Ltd and BNP Paribas, which received investment quotas of US$200 million dollars and US$125 million respectively from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

 

Nikko Asset Management Co. Ltd is one of the three major asset management institutions in Japan, and BNP Paribas is one of the largest banks in Europe.

 

The government launched the QFII pilot program in 2003, allowing foreign institutional investors such as the UBS, DeutscheBank, and Citigroup Global Markets Limited to engage in the securities business on the Chinese mainland, according to Tuesday's China Securities Journal.

 

Since then, the regulator has been making efforts to improve rules and regulations in a bid to open the stock market wider to foreign investment.

 

This year, the SAFE has awarded investment quotas totaling US$1.25 billion to QFIIs. To date, 40 foreign investment institutions have been approved as QFIIs.

 

(Xinhua News Agency May 24, 2006)