The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government welcomed the announcement by the People’s Bank of China today (July 4) that the State Council has approved a further increase of the investment quota for Hong Kong’s Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (RQFII) scheme to Renminbi (RMB) 500 billion.
      
     The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, said, “I would like to thank the Central Government and the relevant Mainland authorities for their tremendous support for Hong Kong. The further increase of the investment quota for the RQFII scheme helps enhance the cross-border use and circulation of RMB funds between the Mainland and Hong Kong, deepens the connectivity between the two markets and reinforces Hong Kong’s status as the global offshore RMB business hub.”
 
      The RQFII scheme was launched in Hong Kong in December 2011. The types of institutions eligible for the RQFII scheme and the investment quota have gradually expanded since then. The scheme allows qualified Hong Kong financial institutions to use RMB funds raised in Hong Kong to invest in Mainland securities markets under an approved RMB investment quota. Before today’s announcement Hong Kong’s investment quota for the RQFII scheme was RMB 270 billion.
 

Ends/Tuesday, July 4, 2017
Issued at HKT 19:32

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