Gates Foundation gets QFII status

The Bill Gates Foundation was granted approval to invest in the mainland's RMB 4 trillion (US$480 million) A-share market through the qualified foreign institutional investor (QFII) program. The foundation, which has an endowment of US$27 billion, was the 17th overseas organization to be granted QFII status by the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Total QFII quotas for the 17 approved organizations total US$1.95 billion. Analysts said that the foundation's approval could spur other western endowment funds to apply to invest in China's stock markets.