A senior official in charge of the foreign exchange administration said in Beijing on Saturday that China is studying the possibility of allowing some non-banking financial institutions to invest in overseas securities market.

Guo Shuqing, director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) and a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said that the SAFE and other related departments are considering loosening controls on investment in overseas securities markets, adding that a few qualified domestic institutional investors may be allowed to operate part of their assets in overseas markets.

He said that the loosening of restrictions on the transfer of lawful private assets to foreign countries is also being considered. Emigrants will be allowed to turn their assets into foreign exchange and send it abroad after proving that the assets are legitimate.

He said that related departments have carried out research on a number of forex administrative issues under capital account, in an effort to adapt to the new situation.

In the second half of 2002, China adopted a policy allowing qualified foreign institutional investors to trade on Chinese securities markets, which was viewed as a breakthrough in China's forex control policies and a positive factor for the slumping securities market.

China has been following a prudent and gradual path to open its capital accounts. In 1996 China made its currency, the renminbi, convertible under current accounts.

Xinhua