Chinas carefully managed programme for foreign investors will be - TopicsExpress

Chinas carefully managed programme for foreign investors will be expanded beyond Hong Kong for the first time, giving London-based investors the right to buy up to 80 billion yuan ($13.1 billion) of stocks, bonds and money market instruments. Britain, meanwhile, will allow Chinese banks to set up wholesale banking branches in London, easing regulations imposed after the financial crisis. Wholesale banks cater to other financial institutions and large corporations. London and Beijing will also allow the yuan to be traded against sterling directly, rather than through the dollar, thereby reducing transaction costs. The moves were announced during a visit to China by Britains chancellor George Osborne, who is seeking to help London retain its leading role as a financial centre in the face of competition from Singapore, Frankfurt and other cities vying to be approved by Beijing as a designated centre for clearing yuan trades outside of China.