China mulls combination of QFII, RQFII schemes to boost foreign investment

China's securities watchdog unveiled draft rules that will combine two existing schemes for foreign investors and expand the scope of investments.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said in a statement that it has begun to consult public opinion on the new rules that will combine the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) program and the RMB Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (RQFII) program.

The QFII and RQFII programs, introduced in 2002 and 2011, respectively, allow overseas institutional investors to move money into China's capital account to encourage controlled flows.

By the end of 2018, the quota in the QFII had totaled 150 billion U.S. dollars, with 101.1 billion U.S. dollars approved for 309 foreign institutional investors.

In mid January, China's foreign exchange regulator announced that the total quota of QFII program had doubled to 300 billion U.S. dollars, a new step toward opening up the capital market.

The quota in the RQFII has totaled 1.94 trillion yuan (281.16 billion U.S. dollars), with 646.7 billion yuan awarded for 233 foreign institutional investors.

The QFII and RQFII programs have been developing steadily and played a positive role in introducing long-term capital, optimizing investor structure, improving corporate governance of listed companies and promoting healthy development of the capital markets.

But with two-way opening of the capital market underway, relevant rules of the QFII and RQFII fail to meet the demands of the new market environment.

The draft rules also loosen market access, expand the scope of investments and enhance oversight, according to the CSRC.