The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) announced Wednesday that it approved BNP Paribas for an investment quota of 75 million US dollars for its qualified foreign institutional investor (QFII) status.

SAFE also made the announcement to approve the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to open a QFII special account in RMB at the Shanghai branch of HSBC. It asked HSBC to urge the foundation to use the account properly, in line with China's regulation related to QFII.