Regulators approve QFII quota for three firms

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange said on Wednesday that it has approved a quota of $100 million each for three Hong Kong subsidiaries of mainland fund management companies under the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) program, which will add $300 million to the A-share market's liquidity.

The three newly approved QFII are Hong Kong subsidiaries of Harvest Fund Management Co Ltd, E Fund Management Co Ltd, and China AMC Co Ltd.

The Hong Kong subsidiaries of the three fund companies are the first approved companies that can raise fund in the overseas market and invest in the A-share market as QFII.

So far this year, some 15 fund companies have set up subsidiaries in Hong Kong, and more than eight of them have submitted applications to become QFII to the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

Analysts said that more fund companies investing into the A-share market as QFIIs will help to enhance liquidity, and that the A-share market is appealing to QFII due to the reasonable valuation of stocks.

By the end of February, China had 381 QFII accounts. As many as 18 A-share QFII accounts were opened in February, up 125 percent month-on-month, according to data of the China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation Ltd.