QDII scheme underperforming: official

The Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) scheme, through which Chinese investors can buy financial assets overseas, is "performing below expectations", according to an official at the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE). Guo Song, director of the capital accounts department at SAFE, said QDII hadn't been functioning well because of expectations of a continued rise in the yuan, the high-flying A-share market and a lack of innovative products, the South China Morning Post reported. He added that the government's foreign exchange policies will be "more open" in the next three to five years with convertibility of the yuan an ultimate policy goal. Chinese banks and fund managers have been given license to invest US$12.6 billion in foreign securities under the QDII program. Insurers are to be allowed to invest as much as 15% of their US$224 billion in assets overseas, with the national pension fund also permitted to participate.