(Yicai) June 4 -- China raised the limit on foreign securities investment by USD2.3 billion in May to meet the growing needs of overseas asset allocation.

Fifty-three of the 189 qualified domestic institutional investors had their foreign securities investment cap lifted, bringing the total quota to USD167.8 billion last month, according to data disclosed by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on May 31.

China’s QDII program allows approved institutional investors to invest in overseas stock and bond markets within a government-set quota. Individual investors can indirectly invest in foreign assets by buying the financial products sold by QDIIs under the program.

With stock markets in the United States and Japan setting record highs this year, Chinese investors have been increasingly enthusiastic about investing abroad, resulting in tight QDII quotas for public fund companies. Some 125 of the 295 QDII fund products had halted subscriptions or large subscriptions as of yesterday because of restricted quotas, according to financial data platform Wind Information.

The SAFE also added three new QDIIs last month, each with a USD50 million quota: Western Leadbank Fund Management, Amundi Bank of China Wealth Management, and BNP Paribas Agricultural Bank of China Wealth Management.

Thirty-one public fund companies, including E Fund Management, had their foreign securities investment cap lifted by nearly USD1.6 billion last month, while banks and insurers had theirs boosted by USD550 million and USD100 million, respectively.

At USD7.7 billion, E Fund was the public fund house with the highest QDII investment quota as of May 31. China Asset Management and Southern Asset Management ranked second and third at USD6.7 billion and USD6 billion.

QDII fund products have been performing well this year. More than 70 percent of them had achieved positive returns for the year as of May 31, with 81 generating returns in excess of 10 percent and six of them passing 20 percent, Wind data showed.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione