Shanghai launches scheme to attract overseas PE investment

Shanghai has introduced a program to allow certain overseas investors to make private equity investments in China, Reuters reported. Through the Qualified Foreign Limited Partner (QFLP), the Shanghai government hopes to "attract quality, long-term overseas capital, boost domestic investment, and promote the development of a local private equity market," it said in a statement on its website. Reuters reported that the QFLP scheme is based on the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) program that allows overseas investment in stocks and bonds, and cited sources as saying the program would have an initial quota of US$3 billion. The Shanghai government has invited qualified foreign firms, including pension funds and endowment funds, to join the new scheme.