A-share market open to foreigners

New rules that allow specially approved offshore investors to buy yuan-denominated A-shares were announced in early November. To be accepted as a qualified foreign institutional investor, a financial institution must have had a minimum of US$10bn in assets under management in its past financial year. Fund management companies must have had at least five years of operational experience, while insurance companies and brokerages are required to have a minimum of 30 years experience and paid-in capital of at least US$1bn. Banks have to be among the world's top 100 institutions. In addition, capital invested in closed-end funds � the preferred form of investment � can only be repatriated after a minimum of three years.