China Construction Bank and Bank of Communications have received a combined US$3.5 billion in quotas to invest overseas under the qualified domestic institutional investor (QDII) scheme.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said yesterday it has approved investment quotas of US$2 billion for China Construction Bank and US$1.5 billion for Bank of Communications on July 27.

"With the quota, we will launch the first investment product soon," a Bank of Communications spokesperson told China Daily, adding that the bank is well prepared for the service.

More quotas will be given to qualified investors later this year.

Citing unidentified sources, the China Securities Journal reported last week that quotas totalling nearly US$10 billion are expected to be approved for the QDII scheme by the end of the year.

"All the banks have applied for relatively large quotas, indicating the business will have a promising future," the SAFE said in an earlier statement.

China's foreign exchange regulator and the central bank announced rules establishing the QDII scheme in principle in April, allowing approved banks, fund management companies and insurers to convert their clients' renminbi funds into foreign currency and invest in overseas capital markets.

The China Banking Regulatory Commission approved the first batch of six banks to start the business over a month ago.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Bank of China, with approved quotas of US$2 billion and US$2.5 billion respectively, have started selling products.

The Bank of East Asia, which obtained a quota of US$300 million, is yet to launch its first product.

"We will apply for more quotas if the new product sells well," the bank said.

HSBC Holdings, one of the six approved QDIIs, has not had its quota announced.

Amid expectations of an appreciation of the renminbi, huge amounts of foreign exchange rushed into China in recent years, putting increased upward pressure on the Chinese currency.

The capital outflows resulting from the QDII scheme will help alleviate the pressure on the renminbi and will slow the pace of the expansion of the country's foreign exchange reserves, analysts say.

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