Watchdog approves new foreign investors

China's top securities watchdog, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, has approved six new Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors, bringing the total number to 213.

China has quickened the approval process for QFIIs to attract more foreign investors. It approved 72 QFIIs in 2012, up from 29 in 2011, Securities Daily reported on Thursday.

The CSRC has also lowered the entry threshold, including lowering the QFII asset requirements to $500 million from $5 billion.

The QFII program, which was launched in 2002, refers to the investment quotas granted by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange to foreign fund managers to invest on the mainland's asset market.

According to the CSRC, QFIIs had a cumulative investment of $37.4 billion as of December. The quota was raised to $80 billion last year.