Taiwan, mainland reduce investment barriers

Residents of Taiwan will be allowed a combined quota of US$16.1 billion to invest in mainland markets, in one of several measures announced by the China Securities Regulatory Commission on Tuesday after top financial regulators from both sides of the strait met to lower lingering capital barriers and boost investment, South China Morning Post reported. The Taiwanese will be the first offshore individual investors granted access to mainland markets under the renminbi qualified foreign institutional scheme (RQFII), which is currently open only to institutions. Taiwan also agreed to double the limit on mainland Chinese institutions’ investments into securities from US$500 million to US$1 billion, Bloomberg reported.