Overseas individual investment scheme planned for six major cities

A qualified domestic individual investor program to allow mainland citizens with at least RMB1 million (US$161,200) to invest directly overseas is being planned for launch in the cities of Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Tianjin, Wuhan and Wenzhou, Reuters reported, citing local media. A report from the Securities Times gave no time frame for said launch beyond “soon,” though Shanghai’s government said in March that it hoped to start the program -actually an extension of one that already allows institutional investors access to markets abroad – in its free-trade zone this year.