China plans to open stock index futures to foreigners

China is expected to give foreign investors access to the nation’s new stock index futures market by the end of January, further opening up the country’s capital markets, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people with knowledge of the discussions. The China Financial Futures Exchange, the authority which controls stock index future trading, is preparing to reveal the first set of qualified foreign investors in the coming weeks, the people said. The news comes after the nation’s foreign-exchange regulator unveiled rules for the opening of bank-accounts for stock index futures trading, a measure considered to be the removal of the last obstacle for foreigners to trade in the investment products, according to the people. The authority is expected to first choose about 10 more established investors under China’s Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor program to participate in the market, said one of the people.