The combined investment quota of qualified foreign institutional investors (QFII) broke the 9 billion US dollar mark after the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) granted new quotas of 200 million US dollars to both Schroder and Invesco on Monday.

Both Invesco and Schroder have been authorized to open a foreign currency account for direct investment, according to the SAFE.

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So far 44 of the 52 QFIIs have been awarded a total investment quota of 9.045 billion US dollars, close to the ceiling of 10 billion U.S. dollars the Chinese government promised to give to overseas institutional investors.

China's booming economy, vigorous capital markets and the higher dividends paid by listed firms will all add to the attraction of the A-share stock market for overseas investors, said Deng Tishun, a senior official with Goldman Sachs in Asia.

Meanwhile, the A-share market can be a risk-hedging tool as well as an investment destination, as China's stock markets do not closely track global markets, he said.

So far the A-share market has not been much studied by international investors, with only 386 of the 1,400 shares being tracked by international market analysts, indicating great potential for profit-making, said Deng.

China published new QFII rules in August of this year, slashing the threshold to attract more overseas investment for its stock market.

The rules came into effect in September 1, stipulating a minimum assets of 5 billion US dollars and a minimum of 5 years operation for a QFII applicant, instead of the earlier 10 billion US dollars and 30 years.

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