BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- A total of 283 overseas institutions have received quotas amounting to 92.72 billion U.S. dollars under the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) program to move money into the country's capital account, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said Saturday.
As of May 26, the quota in the RMB Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (RQFII) program came in at 543.1 billion yuan (79 billion U.S. dollars).
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 still largely controlled by the state due to concerns over abrupt capital flows in and out of the country.
To gradually open the capital account, the government introduced the QFII and RQFII programs in 2003 and 2011 respectively. They give foreign investors the right to move money into the account, encouraging controlled flows.
The QFII program represents China's effort to allow licensed foreign investors to invest in China's RMB denominated capital market. The RQFII program allows institutional investors with offshore renminbi deposits to invest in China's onshore market.
