Jun. 29, 2012 (China Knowledge) – China has granted US$650 million of investment quotas to seven Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors, or QFII, by Jun 8, according to the latest report released by China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

The regulator granted US$100 million of new quota to BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, Northern Trust Global Investments Limited, Capital Research and Management Company and City of London Investment Management Company, respectively.

Meanwhile it granted US$50 million to Mercuries Life Insurance Co Ltd, US$150 million to American International Assurance Co Ltd, and US$50 million to Okasan Asset Management Co Ltd.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission, or CSRC, the country's stock market watchdog, had granted 170 QFII licenses at the end of May 2012, while the State Administration of Foreign Exchange had granted US$27.36 billion quota to 147 firms as of Jun. 8, 2012 to invest in China.

The QFII program, launched in 2003, is the only method through which foreign investors can trade China's domestically listed RMB-denominated A shares.

After obtaining approval from the CSRC, a QFII must wait for the State Administration of Foreign Exchange to approve an investment quota before the foreign investor can start making securities investments in China.