Having just reduced the reserve ratio for the amount of cash banks in the country can hold, China has also altered its foreign investment limits for the value of bonds and stocks foreign buyers can purchase. It seems as though after showing weak growth numbers, China is doing everything it can in order to boost its GDP and attract monetary inflows.
Before the limit was scrapped, foreign investors could only purchase up to $300 billion of assets. This was previously under the QFII scheme. Only about $111.4 billion of the limit had been used by foreign investors so far.
"Henceforth, foreign institutional investors with the relevant qualifications can simply remit funds to carry out investment in securities in compliance with regulations," the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a statement after markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen had closed. The organization also added that the move would "greatly enhance" the convenience of being able to participate in the Chinese market as a foreign investor, which is remarkable given how insular the country has been in the past.
The move has been particularly beneficial for the yuan, which is now risen significantly against the dollar as demand for the local currency has increased. The USD/CNY pair inched up 0.1% to 7.1176 on Wednesday.
"Looking at how the currency trades, it is very clearly demonstrated that it is being used as a way to offset the effects of tariffs," said CLSA Chief Economist Eric Fishwick. "So, the yuan is allowed to weaken whenever the U.S. ratchets the tensions higher," he said, stating that he believes the yuan could reach around 7.3 per dollar by the end of 2019 given that tensions continue or worsen.
What's more is that this will help China even out its balance of payments, which will be extremely beneficial given the current trade war with the US. China also currently has a drain on foreign reserves due to trade tensions, and this will help "shore up" its balance of payments.
So far, China's bond market stands at about $13 trillion while its equity market is valued at $6.9 trillion.
Some people may also see the trade war as a positive, because it is forcing China to become more open to global trade.
"It is certainly a positive and it underscores the fact that the trade war with the U.S. has a positive effect on China -- it is pushing its reform agenda more than expected," said Adrian Zuercher, head of asset allocation for Asia Pacific at UBS Wealth Management. "We might not see immediate inflows, but the cap was an important roadblock for institutional investors which has now been removed."