China will further open its financial sector in "an active and safe" way, the country's central bank promised on Friday.

"China will gradually broaden the scope for the participation of foreign capital in the domestic financial market," said the People's Bank of China in a report.

"We will strengthen the connections between China's financial market and international counterparts by attracting more foreign capital in Renminbi-denominated financial products," the report said.

According to figures, China's balance of payments reached 1.45 trillion U.S. dollars in the first half of 2006, up 28 percent over 2005.

Currently only qualified foreign institutional investors (QFIIs) can invest in the yuan-denominated A-share stock market.

The central bank said it would lower the threshold for approving QFIIs and increase their investment quotas, and further encourage foreign institutions to issue yuan-denominated bonds and securities in the country.

By November 2006, China had eight joint-venture securities companies and 24 joint-venture fund companies, of which 11 are 49 percent owned by foreigners.

1

2

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)