As of 15 December, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (Safe) has granted a total of $157.5bn of quotas, according to its website.
An unusual mid-month report shows five new approvals since the beginning of December, amounting to $3.5bn.
The Safe approved United Overseas Bank (China), China Southern Asset Management, China Asset Management, E Fund Management, and Huatai-PineBridge Investments for their QDII quotas on Wednesday.
Firms that received additional quotas in December 2021
| Firm | Quota ($m) |
| United Overseas Bank (China) | 400 |
| China Southern Asset Management | 500 |
| China Asset Management | 1000 |
| E Fund Management | 1000 |
| Huatai-PineBridge Investments | 600 |
| Total quotas granted | 3500 |
Amid economic recovery and accelerating foreign money inflows, the fresh quotas signal Beijing’s effort to slow the renminbi’s rise by increasing demand for US dollars.
Launched in 2006, the qualified domestic institutional investor (QDII) programme allows some domestic institutions and fund managers to invest offshore within specific quotas.
The issuance of quotas was suspended in April 2019 and resumed in September 2020.
So far, QDII quotas have been allocated to 174 institutions, including 34 banks, 68 securities firms, 48 insurers, and 24 trusts, according to Safe.
“Since the implementation of the QDII scheme, the country has gradually normalised and accelerated the issuance of QDII quotas,” according to Xinhua News, China’s official mouthpiece.
“China has yet to fully liberalise its capital account, with programmes such as the QDII and qualified foreign institutional investors (QFII) providing financial institutions with quotas for outbound and inbound investment, respectively,” it added.
Last week, the People’s Bank of China increased the foreign exchange reserve requirement ratio by 200 basis points to 9% from 7% from 15 December to strengthen foreign exchange liquidity management at financial institutions.
