QFII porfolio limit raised to US$1bn

China has raised the upper limit for how much a individual qualified foreign fund can invest in the county's mainland market A shares.
The quota for share purchases by designated Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors has been raised 25 percent from US$800 million to US$1bn, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a statement over the weekend. It will also shorten the lock-up period for insurers and pension funds to three months from the one-year requirement.
The changes, which were put into effect on September 29, are in line with draft proposals released in early September.
Currently only approved foreign investment funds can buy yuan-denominated A shares through China's Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) programme. According to a statement on SAFE's website, QFII investment quotas now extend to 78 institutions and total US$15.72bn.
UBS was currently the only institution to have used its full US$800 million quota.

