The news that the Chinese government has finally giving the green light for the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor scheme after months, if not years, of debate, is striking. This is especially so put in the context of the far-reaching laws passed in the last couple of months. These finally open up previously non-tradable state shares to mergers and acquisitions by both domestic and foreign companies. Hence the historic acquisition of a 20% stake in the Shenzhen Development Bank by Newbridge Capital and the investment in Ping An insurance company by HSBC.
Whether the latest QFII move is a good-bye gift from premier Zhu Rongji, a sign of the growing power of the reformist China...
