BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- China's dollar-denominated Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) program rose to 93.27 billion U.S. dollars at the end of July, the country's forex regulator said Monday.
A total of 284 overseas institutions have received quotas under the QFII program to move money into the country's capital account, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said.
As of June 29, the quota had stood at 92.72 billion U.S. dollars.
As of July 31, the quota in the RMB Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (RQFII) program stood at 548.2 billion yuan (81.5 billion U.S. dollars), higher than the 543.1 billion yuan recorded by June 29.
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.
The QFII scheme represents China's effort to allow licensed foreign investors to invest in China's capital market. The RQFII program allows institutional investors with offshore renminbi deposits to invest in China's onshore market.
