Qualified foreign institutional investors (QFIIs)have been given the go-ahead to invest on China's A shares market beginning December 1,under regulations issued Thursday.

The set of interim regulations on the administration of securities investments by QFIIs was issued jointly by the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the People's Bank of China.

Under the regulations,QFIIs will be able to invest in A shares,treasury and corporate bonds listed on China's Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges and other financial bodies approved by Chinese authorities starting from December 1.

The regulations say foreign firms should meet a number of conditions to receive QFII treatment,including requirements on credit standings,capital and management.

Two categories of shares are traded on China's stock markets,located in Shanghai and Shenzhen.At present,A shares are still reserved for domestic investors and foreign investors can only buyB shares.

According to the regulations,foreign investors are required toset up a special Renminbi account with banks operating in China,which will act as custodians for their assets intended for securities investment,and use securities companies inside China in trading.

It also rules that each licensed foreign investor can only acquire up to 10percent of the stocks in a listed company.Stocksheld by more than one foreign investor cannot exceed 20percent oftotal stocks of a listed company.

Foreign exchange quotas will be granted for the remittance of capital into and out of China.This is a transitional measure before the Renminbi becomes fully convertible.

Thursday's China Daily quoted Xu Hongyuan,a senior researcher of the State Information Center,as saying that the move would greatly boost investor confidence by infusing fresh and much needed funds into the domestic stock markets.

In a long run,Xu was quoted as saying,the entry of QFIIs would also bring more rational investment to the bourses and help upgrade the variety of investors.