China QFII quota edges up to $111.4b

BEIJING - China's dollar-denominated Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) program saw its total quota rise to around $111.4 billion by the end of October, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

The quota in the renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (RQFII) program came in at 693.3 billion yuan ($98.5 billion) by the end of last month.

China's currency, 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 manage capital flows in and out of the country.

The QFII and RQFII programs, introduced in 2003 and 2011 respectively, allow overseas institutional investors to move money into China's capital account to encourage controlled flows.

The Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor program, a scheme that allows domestic investors to access overseas assets, stood at nearly $104 billion.