The People's Bank of China (PBOC)announced Tuesday that nine commercial banks have been ratified toopen trust businesses for domestic securities investment by qualified foreign institutional investors (QFII).

These banks comprise the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China,the Bank of China,the Agricultural Bank of China,the Bank of Communications,the China Construction Bank and the China Merchants Bank,as well as the Shanghai branches of three overseasbanks,namely the Standard Chartered Bank,the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd.and the Citibank.

A spokesman for the PBOC said that the introduction of the QFIIsystem was an important step in opening China's domestic capital market to foreign investors.With trustee status,commercial bankscan provide all-round services for QFIIs,including the opening ofaccounts,asset custody,capital clearing and information consultation.

Meanwhile,They can provide supervising institutions with necessary supervisory information to protect the stability of the securities market.

Under relevant laws and regulations,the nine banks can now apply to the China Securities Regulatory Commission for their trustee status,the spokesman said.