Two renowned international financial service firms, US Morgan Stanley and British Prudential Asset Management Corporation, have been approved as qualified foreign institutional investors (QFIIs) by the Chinese government, according to Tuesday's Shanghai Securities News.

 

No foreign investors have been approved as new QFIIs since Yale University back in April.

 

The Chinese government launched the QFII pilot program in 2003, allowing foreign institutional investors such as UBS, Deutsche Bank and Citigroup Global Markets Limited to engage in the securities business on the Chinese mainland.

 

Since then, the regulator has been making efforts to improve rules and regulations in a bid to open the stock market wider to foreign investment.

 

To date, 42 foreign investment institutions have been approved as QFIIs and the SAFE has awarded investment quotas totaling US$7.145 billion to QFIIs.

 

China is one of the most important markets in the world and Morgan Stanley will continue to expand its services in China, JohnMack, Morgan Stanley CEO, told the Shanghai Securities News last week.

 

The British Prudential Corporation is now applying an investment quota worth US$300 million from China's foreign exchange authority.

 

(Xinhua News Agency July 12, 2006)