CHINA may further increase the investment quota for long-term investors under the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors scheme to over US$1 billion.

Meanwhile it has granted these investors access to nearly 200 financial institutions over the past 11 years, said the top securities regulator yesterday.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission is considering to offer an investment quota of more than US$1 billion for long-term overseas institutional investors, the Securities Times reported yesterday, citing an unnamed official with the CSRC.

In December, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange abolished the US$1-billion ceiling for sovereign wealth funds, central banks and foreign monetary authorities participating in the QFII scheme. No new upper limit was specified.

Meanwhile investors under the QFII scheme, which started in 2002, are now able to access 199 institutions, according to the report yesterday.

A separate report by the China Securities Journal said the CSRC yesterday launched a random check on reports submitted by companies applying for initial public offerings on the domestic stock exchanges.