BOK kicks off investment in China's stock markets

South Korea's central bank said Sunday that it has launched its investment in the Chinese stock markets in a bid to diversify its portfolio of foreign exchange reserves.

   In December, the Bank of Korea (BOK) earned qualified foreign institutional investor (QFII) status from China's financial authorities, which allows the bank to invest in stocks and bonds

traded on China's financial markets. The BOK was allowed to invest US$300 million in yuan-denominated assets.

 The BOK said it had entrusted the allocated money to asset managers including domestic ones and they began to invest the money to trade yuan-denominated "A" shares on the Shanghai and Shenzen bourses in late June. 

  The central bank said that it is too early to say whether it will apply to get an additional quota for investing in the yuan-denominated assets.

  "As the BOK has just launched its (yuan) investment, whether to apply for further quota would depend on future situations," said Kang Sung-kyung, an official at the BOK's reserve management group.

In April, China's financial authorities raised the total maximum QFII quota to $80 billion.

   Under the QFII scheme, only approved foreign institutions are allowed to invest in China's stock and bonds within quotas set by Beijing's financial authorities. The move came as part of the BOK's efforts to diversify the portfolio of the country's foreign exchange reserves worth $310.87 billion, the seventh-largest in the world.

(Yonhap News)

<한글 관련 기사>

한국은행이 중국 주식시장에도 진출

 한은은 "6월 중 '적격외국인기관투자자(QFII)한도 3억달러 전액을 중국 A주식시장에 투자했다"고 1일 밝혔다. 지난 4월 중국 은행간 채권시장(장외시장)에 뛰어든데 이은 본격적인 '바이(buy) 차이나' 행보다.

한은의 중국 주식시장 투자는 이번이 처음으로 외화보유액 투자기회 확충, 위험분산, 위안화 국제화 대비 등 목적에서 이뤄졌다.

 한은은 지난해 12월 중국 국가외환관리국(SAFE)에서 '적격외국인기관투자자(QFII)' 자격을 취득했다.

 QFII는 중국 상하이ㆍ선전 증권거래소 등 주식시장에서 중국인 투자전용 주식을 직접 거래할 수 있는 자격을 지닌 외국투자기관을 뜻한다.

 한은이 발을 내디딘 A주식시장은 위안화로 거래하는 내국인용 시장이다. 외국인전용으로 B주식시장도 있다. 한은은 A 주식시장에서 3억 달러의 투자한도를 받았다.

(연합뉴스)