New stock program for Taiwan investors likely

Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), said on Sunday that the mainland might launch a program to allow Taiwan investors to use offshore yuan deposits to invest in the mainland's capital markets.

A similar program, known as the RMB Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor, or R-QFII, was launched in Hong Kong at the end of last year under a quota of 20 billion yuan ($3.1 billion).

For now, individual investors in Taiwan can directly invest in the mainland's dollar-denominated B-share market, and they can also buy yuan-denominated A shares through the qualified foreign institutional investor (QFII) program.

It is "possible" in the future to allow individual investors in Taiwan to directly invest in the mainland's A-share market, Guo said.