China approves proposal to allow foreign individual investors to trade A shares through domestic brokerages
Foreign individual investors from 62 countries and territories will have expanded access to trade A shares under the proposal by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, which has been given a tentative go ahead by the State Council
China’s top securities regulator announced on Sunday that it plans to allow foreign individual investors to trade domestic A shares through local brokers, reflecting the latest step in widening foreign access to the country’s US$6.4 trillion stock market.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission said it has received a tentative green light from the State Council on a proposal to allow foreign individual investors to open accounts at domestic brokerages to trade yuan-denominated A shares listed in Shanghai or Shenzhen.
The CSRC is seeking public input on the proposal and expects to make its findings available at a later date.
The measure is aimed at “further opening up China’s capital market”, the CSRC said in a statement.
“The measure can … expand the investor base, introduce more liquidity, improve the investor structure, and make the A share market more open and international,” the regulator said.
Still, not all foreign individual investors are eligible to qualify under the proposal. The CSRC said eligible foreign investors must come from countries or regions that have signed regulatory cooperative agreements with the Chinese securities regulator.
So far, 62 countries or regions have signed such agreements with China, including Hong Kong, US, UK, Singapore, Australia and Japan.