Record foreign holdings of Chinese stocks 
2019-11-08
FOREIGN holdings of Chinese stocks rose to a record high by the end of the third quarter as China further opens its financial markets.
By end-September, Chinese equities held by foreigners were at a record of 1.77 trillion yuan (US$253.14 billion) after having risen for four straight months, up nearly 40 percent in a year, data from the People’s Bank of China shows.
China is stepping up opening of its heavily policed, giant capital markets, having recently scrapped investment quotas under the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor scheme.
Cross-border yuan usage jumped 20 percent in January-September on capital market opening, with about 6 trillion yuan of cross-border yuan payment for securities investment, according to a central bank official.
The data also showed investors had been net buyers of A-shares through the Stock Connect linking Hong Kong and the mainland for the past five months through October, purchasing a net 158.2 billion yuan worth of A-shares. The Stock Connect is a scheme to allow foreign investors convenient access to the A-share market.
Robust foreign inflows into the stock market of the world’s second largest economy come as major international index providers, including MSCI, FTSE Russell and S&P, have begun or are stepping up inclusion of China A-shares and bonds on global indexes.
