Chinese foreign exchange regulator is to loosen its control over the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) program, which allows overseas institutions to invest in Chinese securities market.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) is revising rules concerning restrictions on QFII money, and may cut down the lock-up period required before QFII money is allowed to invest in the mainland market, the financial website Hexun quoted SAFE deputy head Li Dongrong as saying on Tuesday. No timetable for implementation of the reforms was given, nor were further details of how it would be carried out released.

It would be another major move in China's plan to further develop its capital market through the introduction of QFII system since 2002, after the regulator tripled the investment quota from 10 billion U.S. dollars to 30 billion U.S. dollars in December last year, analysts said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 9, 2008)