Long-term QFII scheme gets a boost

China plans to speed up the approval process for long-term investment funding under the QFII scheme, preparing for the complete opening up of the capital account.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange has received applications from 37 qualified foreign institutional investors that are operating in China for an additional $12.5 billion quota in total, according to Wang Lin, head of the Fund Supervision Department of the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

In addition, 33 companies that recently received the QFII qualification are applying for a quota of $10.25 billion, Wang said at a meeting on Tuesday.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange has given licenses to 133 international institutions, permitting them to invest $25.19 billion into China's capital market by April 16.

In order to accelerate the opening up of the capital account, the top securities regulator decided to raise the QFII amount to $80 billion from $30 billion last month, the largest increase since the launching of the pilot program in 2002.

The CSRC also plans to lower the threshold for QFII licenses, expand the investment range and reduce restrictions for cross-board fund flows, Wang said.

In international finance, the capital account is one of two primary components of the balance of payments, the other being the current account. Whereas the current account reflects a nation's net income, the capital account reflects net change in national ownership of assets.