The China Securities Regulatory Commission has approved the U.S.-based Stanford University, GE Asset Management Co. and United Overseas Bank of Singapore as qualified foreign institutional investors (QFII), the China Securities Journal reported Friday.

Forty-five foreign institutions now have QFII status in China, of which 39 have been awarded a combined investment quota of 7.495 billion U.S. dollars, about three quarters of the 10-billion-dollar quota that China promised to give to overseas institutional investors.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said the U.S.-based Yale University had been granted a quota of 50 million dollars, and AMP Capital Investors Limited of Australia awarded 200 million dollars.

Overseas investors in China are allowed to hold tradable shares only through QFIIs.

China's yuan-denominated stock market, which has witnessed a 50 percent increase since late last year, has attracted overseas investors.

China began to grant QFII status in May 2003, and the government promised to increase the total investment quota to 10 billion U.S. dollars.

A SAFE statement said QFIIs had helped the reform and innovation of China's capital markets.

Source: Xinhua