China’s top securities regulator has granted the first licenses under the Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (RQFII) that allows offshore renminbi to be invested in mainland markets, The Wall Street Journal reported. Subsidiaries of four Hong Kong investment management companies – Harvest Fund Management, E Fund Management, HuaAn Fund Management and HFT Investment Management – announced that they received licenses Thursday from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) under the program. China-based Bosera Asset Management and China Asset Management also were granted licenses, according to anonymous sources familiar with the matter. The companies now must apply for individual quotas under the overall program cap of RMB20 billion (US$3.1 billion). RQFII is part of a gradual opening of the mainland to renminbi raised offshore; an estimated US$94 billion sits in yuan-denominated accounts in Hong Kong.