China adds more QFII a-share accounts

Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors, or QFIIs, opened 45 new A-share accounts in China in December, the highest monthly record in 2013, the China Security Depository and Clearing Co Ltd has revealed. This marks the 24th consecutive month in which QFIIs have opened accounts in China's A-share markets and brings the total number of accounts to 612, Friday's China Securities Journal reported. QFIIs opened 261 new A-share accounts in 2013, an average of 21.75 per month. Analysts said growth in the QFII accounts indicated overseas investors' increasing interest in China's stock markets, with the relatively low prices of some stocks with potential for return being the major draw for investors. The Shanghai Composite Index, the benchmark equity index, has been among the world's biggest fallers in 2013, with an annual decline of 6.75 percent. The key Shanghai index has now declined 4.85 percent since the beginning of 2014.